I couldn't resist the temptation and opened the satchel right away. inside I found 2 letters and a small token with the Inquisitions insignia on one side and the insignia of the Adeptus Mechanicus on the other. The first letter explained the meaning of the token, which was to be traded in for my new set of carapace armor* at the nearest officio departmento munitorum. The inquisition had already taken care of everything and it just needed to be picked up and fitted to my body. Furthermore, the letter explained my promotion to rogue trader and informed me that a ceremony would be held in the near future to make my new status official. in the meantime, I was to report to Elris, who would be my immediate supervisor and travel companion in the near future as I get underway with my new task. She would spend the time between now and the ceremony teaching me about my new responsibilities and what the Inquisition expected from me as well.

The second letter was handwritten, by Elris, telling me to go and get my armor handed out and then wait for her in my room before it finished off stating that she would be thirsty on her arrival. I dutifully unpacked the amasec bottle I had squirreled away, taking the not very subtle hint, and hurried over to the nearest munitorum office. The quartermaster behind the counter shot up from his seat and barked at a mechanicus adept when I put the counter on the table, and after inspecting it thoroughly, I was escorted into a mechanicus workshop where the work to fit my armor begin immediately. While quite a bit heavier than my old flak armor, it also offered a massive upgrade in protection, one that I was more than happy to trade a little bit of mobility for. I felt safe in this armor. The process took a few hours and the adepts were extremely nitpicky about any perceived error or miscalculation, but the fruits of their labor were undeniable. When they were finished, the armor felt like it was a second piece of skin I could slip into at will. The only thing I was not the biggest fan of, was the not-at-all-subtle markings of the Inquisition that adorned the armor.

It was what it was. There were worse factions within the Imperium I could be associated with, and at least the mark of the Inquisition usually crushed any idea of being difficult I might encounter among many Imperial subjects. I felt powerful as I left the munitorum, mostly because the regular troops around me wore flak armor. I could tank damage that would obliterate a regular guardsman in this thing. Which, when I thought about it, didn't amount to that much. But still, slow progress is still progress, and every sliver of advantage I could scrounge up for myself was to be cherished and appreciated. I also received an upgrade in weaponry, opting for the Bullock class Stub cannon**. Sure, the low ammunition count in the enormous revolver was insignificant compared to my las rifle, but when each shot has the potential to stop an Ogryn, or turn a regular man into a mess of scattered body parts, ammunition becomes a relative concept. Whoever heard of someone needing to be splattered, twice?

I noticed numerous looks of both envy and confusion on my way back, as the Inquisitions mark was not a normal sight on these frontlines. I made my way back to my room without any issues and found Elris waiting for me, having already dipped into the bottle.

"The armor suits you, though I expect you are going to want to modify it at a later point. I knew there was something different about you when I read the commissaries battle report back on Karrik Tomorrow, we begin your instructions. But tonight, you get to celebrate early!" The smile she sent me over the glass in her hand sent shivers down my spine and I was suddenly struck by the absurdity of the situation, seen from an outside perspective. An armored and armed man, being spun around the finger of a beautiful woman in tight clothing. A cliché as old as humanity itself. The oldest game ever played, and I had to stick to the rules, so I dutifully removed my armor and joined her for a few glasses before the real celebration got underway.

The following days were spent listening to endless repetitions of the same subjects. namely, the normal duties of a rogue trader, establishing contact with worlds outside of the Empire's influence, bringing any lost human civilization back into the fold, and otherwise finding the best way to exploit and conquer whatever I set my eyes on, in the name of the Emperor. I was also informed that I would indeed be bringing a liaison from the Inquisition that would function as advisor and middleman, between me and the Ordo Hereticus. I was also endlessly rehearsed in the correct wording when accepting the position during the ceremony. The matter of tradition was of the utmost importance, and there could be no errors for anyone to point at in the future, should a conflict between the Imperial factions arise as a consequence of my actions out beyond the borders of the Imperium. Elris was especially tenacious about me not being a direct part of the Inquisition, but rather a freelance agent benefitting from an endorsement that could be withdrawn more or less whenever it suited the people in power, which only happened if I started disappointing in my duties. Thankfully, shackled as I was compared to other rogue traders, my task was fairly easy. Do regular rogue trader stuff, claim planets for the Imperium, bring lost human civilizations back under Imperial rule, and trade to my heart's content with exotic and rare items and minerals.

As far as I was interested, trading was my main focus point. There were many things for sale in this universe, and the most precious of them all was knowledge. Someone, somewhere, out there, knew the secret for me to get home, and I wanted to find that someone. No price would be too high, and no cost too great. And I was lucky, lucky beyond all reason and hope, to get this chance. But I could not get my hopes up. This would be more than flying to the outer rims and finding a backwater planet with a shamanistic human culture.

If I had to play by the rules of this universe, my best bet would most likely be the chaos powers, but that was not an option, with the whole Inquisitorial agent thing I had been roped into. Unless I could get more freedom, which meant getting rid of my Inquisition liaison down the line. A shame, Elris was good company outside our rank and file, but she was also standing in my way, in more ways than one. I had no real possibility to use/train my psychic powers with her nearby, and she would also prevent me from forming any meaningful relations with any planetary civilization that was not strictly Imperial, severely hampering my ability to discover as much as possible. But those were a concern for a different time.

2 days before the ceremony was to take place, I was asked to give my future crew some thoughts. As a rogue trader, I would be given a contingent from the Imperial Guard to travel with me and take care of the more aggressive side of Imperial diplomacy. Meaning, do what I want, or my personal army will vaporize you under a torrent of laser fire. But I would also have to start creating a personal retinue of specialists, starting with someone in charge of my security. But no matter how I twisted and turned the idea, I didn't like the thought of having someone else plan out my security detail. Then it hit me. Abhumans. As soon as I got the idea, I voiced my desire to have a few Ogryns placed on my ship, along with a commissar trained in the handling of them.

From the look on Elris's face, I could tell she was less than impressed by the idea, but it was a tried and true method to have Ogryns as personal guards. Or, to me be more specific, "Bone 'eads"***, the heavily augmented sergeants among the Ogryn's. Bigger, stronger, able to understand orders as complex as "attack the enemy from the side", and fiercely loyal toward their commander, they would sooner break the neck of anyone threatening their charge, high-ranking Imperial officials as well, than they would let harm come to those whose protection they are charged with. But I had another reason for wanting an Ogryn as my personal protector. Showing up on an undiscovered world with a lost human population would always create tension. Letting them see me have ultimate control over an abhuman large enough to crush me with a firm handshake, would remove any illusions of empty bravado in the claims I would bring about the strength of the Imperium. And it would be nice to have a companion whose biggest issue in life was whether to eat or sleep if they were not in a fight. Ogryns were so lovingly uncomplicated.

I also spent some time testing out my new weapon, the outlying checkpoints and defensive works could always use extra manpower, and the hive gangers and heretics provided ample opportunity to test out my new toy. The first time I connected a shot, there was little left of my unfortunate victim's left side of the chest. The arm and shoulder had been ripped off by the bullet and the poor idiot bled out within a handful of seconds. Of course, I also attracted quite a bit of attention from the return fire, on account of my new armor, which the gangers undoubtedly saw as a potential prize to be looted once I had been killed. The effectiveness of the armor was astonishing, most of the stubber rounds clanging harmlessly off of the pauldrons and chest armor, and the few that weren't deflected didn't penetrate enough to damage me, and a quick visit by the local mechanicus adept quickly saw minor damage corrected.

Laser fire was still somewhat of an issue though, the concentrated light burned through the armor at an alarming rate whenever the occasional las weapon was used against us, and I very quickly learned to focus down anything even remotely looking like a las or, Emperor forbid, a plasma weapon among our enemies. That last one had not happened yet, but we with my future looking like it did, there was no telling what kind of weaponry I would possibly be pitted against, so it was best to learn the limitations of my new armor. Hopefully, I would get the chance to upgrade again sooner rather than later, and preferably to something that was not covered in Inquisitorial markings. I would really like to get my hands on some power armor, but considering that the full suit of carapace armor I was wearing, was usually reserved for wealthy individuals, or used by special units, like elite storm troopers, or squads of the Adeptus Arbites when they performed their underhive raids, I could not complain about my current situation. It had been an upgrade from paper armor to actual armor.

The day before the ceremony I was given a short list by Elris and told to pick out a ship class from the ones listed. "I am sorry there are no better choices, but with the limited resources we have to spare on this project, they are the best we can supply." She added with a sad smile on her face. I truly believe she was sorry I could not pick from more suited options.

There was the Jericho class Pilgrim Vessel, an enormous vessel that had been converted from a refinery vessel, it was able to hold thousands upon thousands of inhabitants with little issue and had massive amounts of cargo space. This also meant that its weaponry was rather limited, and it handled as well as a flying brick. I was not surprised this was on the list, the Ecclesiarchy was the main user of these ships, transporting pilgrims to and from the endless amount of shrines that were scattered across the Imperium. A good vessel for the rogue trader that wanted to do just that. Trade, and travel with a large force of Guardsmen to protect him.

Then there was a Hazeroth Class Privateer, so named for its wide popularity among pirates and raiders. A good-sized crew with a decent amount of weaponry for its size, it suffered from a lack of armor and cargo space, in favor of engine-heavy designs, allowing them to run from anything they cannot fight. A good starting vessel for the up-and-coming pirate in the making.

There was also a Vagabond Class Merchant Trader, a freighter style vessel with small amounts of weaponry, enough to discourage pirates anyway, engine power on the lower end of the scale, but good cargo space and decent crew manning. Unassuming and a very common sight along the Imperial shipping lanes, it was a ship that would blend into the crowd. A safe bet for any starting captain.

Finally, there was a Havoc Class Merchant Raider, an older ship design with fast engines, sizable cargo space, enough firepower to rival many frigates, and a good-sized crew. The only downside was its relative lack of armor, earning it the nickname "glass cannon". A somewhat good choice, for the captain that was confident in their ability to either avoid a fight or end it before it could begin.

It was an interesting choice, and one I would have to think over very carefully before I decided.