"Havoc Class," I said after thinking it over for a long moment. It was the only sensible choice. engines fast enough to get me out of trouble, enough weapons to pose a threat to any similar-sized frigate, and still a respectable amount of cargo space along with a more than respectable crew size, meaning, allowing me to bring as much as 5 regiments of guardsmen, provided the Inquisition would supply me with that much. I doubted it. Most likely, I would be given a single regiment until I could prove my worth, either by trading and finding worlds that could be of use to the Inquisition or by weeding out potential heretics among the other rogue traders, if and when I met them, which I was bound to do sooner or later.

"An Interesting choice. I would have thought you would have gone for the Hazeroth. Many new Traders prefer to start with as fast a ship as they can get their hands on." Elris said as she pulled on her boots. She wasn't bothering with anything more than her basic guardsman shirt and pants, but I had a feeling she would be dressed to impress for the handing over of the Letters of Marque. It was not every day a new rogue trader entered the scene, even if I was not a full-on rogue trader with a fledgling dynasty behind me. "And you don't have to worry about finding skilled crew. It will be supplied for your first ship. Navigators, tech priests, deckhands, 2 regiments of guardsmen, everything. We have even found an Ogryn that would be a suitable candidate. For some reason, he claimed to have seen you before, back on Karrik. You understand why I find this to be quite incredible, considering we are dealing with an ... Abhuman." Her voice was laced with vitriol as she said the last word, her distaste for the massive humanoids being put on full display, and I knew what she meant. An Ogryn being able to remember anything that had not been repeated 10.000 times was touching the borders of the unbelievable. "I do not understand why you would insist on having one of them assigned to your retinue. Apart from their size, I can see no advantage in using them for such tasks."

"You forget about their loyalty. Once charged with my safety, no amount of coaxing, bribery, threats, begging, or anything else will make him go against that the task of protecting me. Sure, he might be manipulated, but as my bodyguard, he will be spending all the time away from the ship, glued to my side. There will not be many chances for anyone to attempt such a thing. There is also the possibility to put a literal wall of flesh and muscle between me and any danger there might arise. Given some Bullgryn armor* and a proper power maul and a ripper gun, once he has proved worth the expense, he will be neigh unstoppable, even against an Ork Nob*. The only thing that could keep me safer would be an Astartes battle brother. But don't worry, I only plan on getting the 1 Ogryn. I need advisors and specialists in certain areas, but I am sure we will encounter such individuals on our travels. Unless of course, you know an infiltration expert that can operate in hostile territory? that would solve at least one more position issue" I was rather hopeful that Elris only operated in our ranks and I was not disappointed

"I do not. Those I know are trained to infiltrate our own ranks." Elris was casual as she answered and it struck me how much more information she was willing to give out now that I was chosen for the role of a rogue trader. All of this was of course disclosed under the assumption that it was a private conversation. Spilling Inquisition secrets would get you killed, no matter your rank or position. Even governors of whole sectors would not be safe from spilling such secrets. I didn't care about that, I had no obligation to these people, no duty of care. I just wanted to go back home. I had my life dream fulfilled, and I had been sorely disappointed.

I had been blind to the horrors, being enthralled by stories of heroic last stands and epic charges against overwhelming odds. The truth was far more grim. For every heroic tale, millions of meaningless deaths would have to take place. Enough blood to fill oceans would have to be spilled to create the circumstances that transformed an ordinary warrior into a legendary one. And in this universe, I was not one of those ordinary warriors. I was a flea, a surface nuisance, to those that wielded real power. Astartes, both regular and chaos varieties, entombed dreadnoughts**, Daemons, Titan walkers, a literal hell dimension, numerous alien species with nothing but bad intentions for mankind, there were death cults, parasite species, and so much more. I was surrounded by a galaxy of shit and suffering, and I had to contribute to it in no small degree to find the only thing I truly wanted at this point. A way home. My dull home seemed like a vacation in paradise when compared to my current situation.

"A shame. Guess I will have to figure something out with Ordo Militum*** down the line." I replied as I started strapping on my new carapace armor.

"You are very familiar with the inner workings of the inquisition for a PDF trooper!" It was not a statement but a deeply veiled accusation, and I felt the familiar tingling along my spine as the room seemed to grow colder in an instant. Gone was my nighttime distraction and in her place sat the Inquisition agent with the scent of blood in her nostrils.

"I am also quite capable, for a PDF trooper. Is it so strange that I would be of exceptional intellect as well as skill?" I fought to keep my tone light, trying to hide behind boastful bravado. "I love the Imperium and as such, I have had an interest in learning its inner workings to the best of my ability, which is quite substantial, as you well know." I winked at the last words, causing the tiniest of smirks to appear on her lips for a fraction of a second.

She accepted my words reluctantly, but it WAS plausible. She even kissed me goodbye before she left after giving me the time of the ceremony. Nothing noteworthy happened until then, and the ceremony itself was a very quiet affair. The inquisition always did like its secrecy. The planetary governor himself signed and handed me the Letter of Marque, overseen by Elris, a commissar, and a servitor clerk from Administratum, and just like that, I was a rogue trader. The letter was placed in a Null box**** and I carried it in as we walked toward the landing pad that contained the Havoc Class Merchant Raider I had requested. Mind you, the ship was roughly 1.6 km long (roughly 1 mile) and 400m wide (roughly 1200 ft) and had approximately 24.000 crew when fully manned. Add to that my 2 regiments of 1500 guardsmen each, and I was set for at least a solid 6 months of exploring before I would have to return to port to refit, sell cargo, and hire more crew. Given the size of my ship, it took us a while to finally arrive at an entry point, and when we did, we were greeted by a commissar and an enormous Ogryn that showed signs of heavy cranial augmentation. So it was a Bone 'Ead. His size, however, was quite bigger than the regular abhuman. Where a normal Ogryn would tower over you at 2.5-3 meters, this one almost reached 3.5 and his muscle-to-mass ratio was even more ridiculous than normal Ogryns. He was a freak of nature.

The initial greetings only took a minute and the commissar looked to the Ogryn and said firmly "Trokk, this is the man you need to protect. That is the only thing you will need to do. Keep. This. Man. Safe!" It surprised me that he used such a simple command to an Ogryn that had been mentally enhanced, but maybe it made it easier for Trokk to have a clear order to fall back to, whenever he was in doubt.

"Okay. Keep the man safe!" Trokk repeated as he stared intensely at me, no doubt committing my face to memory to the best of his abilities. With that, we quickly started moving through the ship to arrive at the bridge, with the captain's quarters located on the deck straight above with a private elevator leading connecting the 2.

The crew looked at us with curiosity, but as soon as they saw my armor and the box I carried, they knew I was the soon-to-be captain of the vessel and they saluted us with the Imperial Aquila. It might sound glorious, but it was anything but glorious. Cramped corridors that were coated in old grease and grime, grey crew members that lived lives of darkness and endless work, only occasionally broken by a few days of port leave. Some of them had been born into it, never knowing any other life than the snaking corridors and horrible food. If they were lucky they would never experience anything other than the killing monotony of a merchant's life. If they were unlucky they would be killed during a pirate boarding or worse, be taken by chaos to either be sacrificed or corrupted. The true glory of the Imperium.

I saw the faces, grey skin and sunken eyes, hunched backs, and dead eyes. The hunger with which they looked at Elris concerned me for a moment, until they saw the Inquisition marks on her clothes and they, in the infinite wisdom a life in the Imperium brings with it should you manage to survive to adulthood, that subservience was the way to go instead. The sight of Trokk also brought no small amount of fear into their eyes despite their knowledge that if he wanted to harm them, he would have done so already, but the massive guy was shooting menacing looks in the direction of anyone so much as looking at me. If he had this effect on Imperial subjects, I could not wait to see a long-lost human race react to him, and the thought made me giddy as we arrived at our destination. I looked around the bridge as we entered and it was bustling with activity. Techpriests, servitors, regular crewmembers, even a Navigator*****. The young man was so pale he could have passed for an albino, spindly of build, but not very tall. the third eye in his forehead was covered with a piece of fabric, but everyone still gave him a wide berth and I noticed Elris sneering in visible disgust as we got closer.

I should not be surprised. Navigators were, when it came down to it, mutants. The only reason they were allowed to live, was their ability to facilitate travel between the stars, so her dislike of him was only a natural reaction. The navigator greeted me with indifference, an expected reaction.

"This is Farsyn, a young navigator from a shrouded House. I have no doubt he will work very hard to restore his bloodlines lost honor while in service on your ship." None of this information was critical, so it was obvious Elris was mocking the Navigator, her instincts of hate toward any mutation that deviated from a baseline human made it clear, she was Inquisition through and through. I returned his greeting and held out my hand to shake his, and the gesture made both Elris and Farsyn immensely surprised, though for very different reasons, and the Navigator hesitantly extended his hand and shook mine.

"It is rare to see someone so at ease around my kind, even more so when they learn of my great shame" The last words were followed by an irritated glance in the direction of Elris, but nothing more. His restraint was either remarkable or he was used to the insult. My bet was on him being used to it. "But it pleases me that we will be able to look past these differences and focus on bringing glory to the Imperium in our future travels. If there is nothing else, Captain, I would like to retreat to my sanctum. Do you have a heading in mind?"

I thought about it for a second. What would be the most important thing for me to do right now? Then I had an idea that would solve many problems at once. "Take us to the edge of the Caligari Sector, in Segmentum Tempestus. That is our heading." I said and the Navigator quickly retreated.

"The Caligari Sector? What do you expect to accomplish there?" Elris asked when we were left alone,

"Find some heretics, bring them the Emperor's mercy, take whatever is in their ships they have not defiled, and make a new plan once that succeeds. This is a decent ship, Elris, but it needs some upgrades before I am comfortable with taking it out into the fringes. I also need to expand my retinue before we venture out. So for now, we get to chase around heretics, mutants, Xenos, and the corrupted. I can't imagine you have anything against showing traitors the error of their ways?" I made sure to play on her Inquisitorial nature, but I was not lying either. The Caligari Sector was a hotspot for all of those mentioned above and its proximity to Imperial space meant that I could run away if I bit off of more than I could chew, and reasonably expect to find help before being hunted down and turned into a gruesome trophy.

I spent the rest of the day scrutinizing the various blueprints over the ship, a thing that would come to be my primary pass time when I was in standby mode as the captain of the ship. Either them or whatever information we could scrounge up about our next intended destination. When I retreated to my private quarters above the bridge, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the last captain had at least known about comfort, judging from the large and fluffy-looking bed and pillow. A couple of comfortable leather chairs were placed in front of a large steel desk, which had a very official-looking swivel chair placed behind it. The walls were covered in a soft golden light that came from panels along the floor and ceiling, giving the room a calming and comfortable glow. Upon inspection, all the cabinets were empty, but I would rectify that soon enough. Spare weapons, trophies, and the finest booze. Yep, my childhood pirate king dreams would most definitely come to life in this room. Not that I was going to go full pirate mode, but it was nice to have a place to go dream.

The first stop on our way was Bakka, besides the occasional entering of realspace once the Navigator was at the limits of his sight from our previous location, so roughly every 5000 lightyears or so. With an expected average travel speed of about 250 lightyears daily when inside of the warp, that meant we have to transition into realspace every 19-21 days, depending on the Navigator and take a day or 2 for them to rest up and relax. Warp travel was not done easily and it was not an exact science. There was also the fact that I had chosen to travel across the Imperium to begin my journey, so... There was that. I was looking at, in the very best of circumstances, 40-50 days of travel before we got anywhere near the sector I wanted to reach. So, I could probably expect a good 70 days of travel before we reached Bakka.

After getting out of my armor and putting it away on a shelf, I fell into the swivel chair with a heavy sigh, wondering what I could do to pass the time. There was always hedonism, allowing myself to indulge in whatever struck my fancy. But I didn't function well under such circumstances. I would quickly become either apathetic or depraved, neither of which was something that appealed to me. I could always train with the Guardsmen. I would have to keep myself ready. I could also familiarize myself with Trokk who had been dismissed to the care of a young commissar that had been assigned to me as his handler until we reached our destination, at which point, Trokk should be bonded enough to me that I would have full control over the giant abhuman. But I could always do that tomorrow. He would be following me whenever I was not in this cabin, or when explicitly dismissed, which would happen very rarely.

I could also spend time studying every bit of information I could dig out from our data stores, and try to get the hang of how combat in space would function. I had gotten a good grasp on ground combat, but space combat was very different. Torpedos launched at distances of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, "Point defenses" with a range of a few hundred kilometers. Atomics used with reckless abandon, weaponized gamma radiation to fry incoming fighters. My new ship didn't even have Lance turrets, the standard high-energy beam weapons mounted on the larger cruisers and capital ships, but I had to do with Las Burners******. And I would have to stick to those underpowered pieces of junk until I could get my hands on a bigger and better ship. It would take days just to plow through the relevant information, and weeks to develop a proper understanding of the various subjects. I was restless but exhausted from the events of the day and decided to get some sleep, but I had barely had time to take off my shirt and reach for my belt when a small vox near the elevator down made a chime. I walked over and pressed the button.

"Speak," I said as I activated the vox.

"You belongings from your previous living quarters, captain." The quality of the vox made it impossible to distinguish gender by voice, but the pitch and tone told me it was one of the guardsmen and I pressed the button that sent the elevator down. Moments later it came back up and a young trooper stepped out, carrying both of my backpacks. She put them on the floor just inside my quarters and looked up to salute me with the Aquila, and froze. Her staring told me it was the scars she was looking at, my missing shirt revealing the work of the underhive doctor. Sure, the function of his work was perfect, but he had not been gentle if the scars were anything to go by. add to that my previous injuries and the injuries that the previous owner of this body had received, and the image of a deathworlder was complete. The trooper was short and lean, not an overly feminine body by any stretch, half a lifetime of war having hardened her into an experienced killing machine. She had seen death and dealt it, in equal measure. But she had grown up in a comfortable world, with a stable and comfortable climate, without wildlife that WOULD kill you, given the slightest chance. Compared to me, she was still soft and squishy, and the few wounds I could see would not have been pretty, but they were not too severe either. Even after arriving here, I had stared death in the face and only survived on sheer luck, and only the Emperor knew what had transpired to the previous owner. I had been covered in scars before my inept self had taken over.

"Was there anything else, trooper?" I asked and cocked an eyebrow at the young woman.

"No captain!" She said, a little too quickly, as she finished her salute.

"Dismissed. For now." I said with a smile and she blushed as she turned on her heel and took the elevator down without turning back around. It was a cute reaction, but it was just for fun. I didn't dare think of what Elris would do if she thought she had competition. Of course, I doubted I was the only man in her life, but one could never play it too safe with the Inquisition. It wasn't until I fell into my new, wonderful, heavenly, absolutely divine new bed, that I noticed a tiny incessant blinking in the corner of my eye. With a small hint of excitement, I opened my character screen.

PERSONAL MAIN QUEST NOTIFICATION: You have started a personal main quest to find a way back to your own world. Guess having your dreams come true was not all it was chalked up to be, huh?

REWARD UPON COMPLETION: Unknown (Yes, unknown!)

There it was again, that sassy side of the system. What the hell was that about?

Achievement unlocked: "I am free" Become a Rogue Trader with all of the freedom it entitles. In Imperial service, this is a luxury afforded to few and desired by all. Where will you turn your gaze? +3 perception, +1000 xp

well, that was a nice little surprise. I like this achievement system more and more.

HUMAN. LEVEL 5.

STAT POINTS REMAINING: 0

ALIGNMENT: FAITHFUL IMPERIAL+.

LITANIES: 27

AUGMENTATIONS: Cybernetic lung(upgrade lvl1, Toxins/environment)

LEVEL:8649/9600

STRENGTH: 11

AGILITY: 9

PERCEPTION: 13

WILL: 14

LUCK: 31

PSYCHE: 1/500

SKILLS

FEATS

ABILITIES(*)

RETINUE(*)

Wow, A new tab? I quickly opened it to see what that was all about.

RETINUE:

Trokk, the Ogryn. Bodyguard. Strength, 600. Agility, 6. Perception, 8. Will, 5. Luck, 5.

600 strength? What was that guy made out of, cybernetic muscle on steroids? Even if I managed to level enough to have the points, there is no way I would ever invest that much into strength, the most deceptive of all stats. Sure, it was impressive to look at, but at what cost? He was tough as a sack full of bricks, but about just as smart. Bodyguard was indeed the best job he could ever have. Perhaps I could get my grubby little hands on some Bullgryn armor and a slab shield, covering the formidable meathead in discarded tank tracks fashioned into makeshift armor. But that was wishful thinking for now.

I moved on to see my new ability.

"GET UP GUARDSMAN!!" : This ability grants the user the ability to push through what would otherwise be incapacitating damage, and keep on fighting. One use per week.

ENDURANCE: TIER 2, LEVEL 7 (NOTE: PLANETARY BONUS APPLIED)

DANGER INSTINCT: LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE DANGER IS RELATIVE AND DEATH WAITS AROUND THE CORNER OF EVERY NEW DAY HAVE GRANTED YOU THE ABILITY TO SENSE MALICIOUS INTENT TOWARDS YOU.

NATURAL BLUFFING: SINCE YOUR ARRIVAL, YOU HAVE SPENT A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME DURING CONVERSATION LYING AND TWISTING THE TRUTH. YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE NATURAL BLUFFING FEAT.

WITCH SIGHT*: Use your psychic abilities to "read" the aura and intent of those around you.

TRADERS' CHARM: LIKEABLE AND FRIENDLY WHENEVER GIVEN THE CHANCE, THE ROGUE TRADER BEGINS ANY FIRST SOCIAL INTERACTION WITH ANY INDIVIDUAL, WITH A MINOR INCREASE IN CHANCE FOR A POSITIVE OUTCOME, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION.

That was nice, though I wondered how much use a "minor increase in chance" would help me out. I was not about to disregard a new ability though, and it was more than I had before. I suddenly heard the elevator and realized I never recalled it after it went down and I got busy closing down the character screen to focus on whoever was coming up, but I heard Elris call out before it stopped.

"Quite an upgrade from your previous lodgings. It's nice to be back in more comfortable surroundings, but in the future, I advise you to recall the elevator after dismissing someone." She was looking around the room as she walked further in. "Somewhat empty, but, everything in good time. So, why did you choose a destination on the other side of the Segmentum Solar?"

I lifted my head and looked at her as she made herself comfortable in one of the leather chairs after turning it around to face me. "Because," I answered "As capable as I might be on the ground, I need time to get familiar with the role of Rogue trader and captain of a ship. I figured the trip through Imperial space would grant me time to get familiar with the basics before we reach Bakka and can get direction on any pirate elements in the nearby area I can hunt down and bring to justice. This will also let me asses the combat level of our little crew, and my vessel, and paint me an overall picture of how effective this ship operates. And finally, it will be near friendly territory, allowing for a backward-oriented assault, giving our Imperial allies a chance at glory."

Elris laughed at the phrasing. "It's remarks like that, that cause you to stick out, you know. You are different. And I cannot help but wonder why. You Intrique me, Björk, and that is not an easy thing to do. I have served the Imperium for close to 300 years at this point, and never have I met someone with a mind like yours. I know you are not a psyker, You were subject to several tests from our psykers both on and off the battlefield before we contacted you.

You stood out back on Karrik, and we took notice back then. A deathworlder, with no memory, is miraculously saved by an Ecclesiarcy deacon, reciting ancient teachings and choosing to serve in the PDF. Come on, even with memory loss, you had to know that would make you stand out. But we have plenty of time for me to figure you out. I am here to be assigned quarters... Unless you prefer to assign me to yours?" She raised an eyebrow as she finished speaking and I had to think it over quickly. I would never have alone time if I assigned her here, and it might also give the wrong impression, but there were a few rooms not far away that were meant for wealthier guests during trade between ships, or even transporting important people from place to place.

"You will take one of the large rooms as your permanent room, but you are more than welcome to spend the night, almost whenever you want." It was an apologetic refusal, but it made it clear I needed my own space and time every once in a while, and she accepted it with a smile.

"Very well captain, I will go get situated in my chambers, but be sure I will return often. You are pleasant company when you are not being an enigma." And with those parting words, she left the room and sent the elevator back up, leaving me to finally get some rest and try and get accustomed to my new situation. The question of what I would do when I arrived at Bakka could wait until tomorrow.