“Incoming voidship, Lord Captain – identified as the ACS Arethusa,” the Helmsman said.

Rogue Trader Emberlyn Driftwood leaned back in her golden chair on the command deck. “Vox-master, do you think the operation to steal that shipment of Terran Tea went unnoticed?” she asked. “Like I specifically requested?”

The Vox-master looked at the marvel of engineering that was the ACS Arethusa, then at the Lord Captain, then back at the rapidly closing ACS Arethusa again. “It appears not, my Ladyship.”

“Fine, tie them up in Administratum legal threats while we prepare a boarding party under the radar,” Emberlyn ordered, jumping to her feet, voidcoat flapping in the unexplainable wind. “This will not interrupt the dinner party I have planned tonight.”

Emberlyn was stopped en route to the armoury, where the Navy breachers were cleaning their shotguns, by her favourite Inquisitor blocking the way.

“Inquisitor,” Emberlyn nodded, unable to get past Stella, who held out her arms to block the passageway.

“Lord Captain. I hear that an Albion Commonwealth Ship is approaching,” Stella said.

“Do you have eyes and ears everywhere?” Emberlyn inquired. “Where do you find the time to listen?!”

“For one, I’m not having extravagant dinner parties every week. As you know, the Illustrious Vexation is in no shape for a full-scale space battle. I also bribed some officers to make sure Deck 31 didn’t revolt and instead continued repairs. Now tell me why this commonwealth ship is approaching on a direct course, with its weapons primed. What did you do?” Stella accused.

“A cargo ship was passing through my territory. I simply made sure it paid its dues. As is my prerogative as a Rogue Trader. How was I supposed to know where it was delivering goods to? Now are you joining the boarding party, or not?”

Stella signed and lowered her arms to let the Rogue Trader go. This was not a hill worth dying on. “Lead the way, Lord Captain.”

Emberlyn barged past, and whispered in Stella’s ear. “You ARE coming to my dinner party tonight, by the way. Part of the ship, part of the crew. I’ll even let you bring a plus one from Deck 31.”

“My plus one will be my disapproval of the way you run your dynasty,” Stella whispered back.

“Sticks and stones, Stella. Sticks and stones. But trust me, you’ll enjoy the tea.”

*

“Lord Captain!” Sergeant Dee exclaimed as she arrived. “We’ve been boarded!”

“What? No, that’s what I was going to do, how dare they board us first! Have you discovered their objective? Is it Intel retrieval? Sabotage? A heresy check? A vault heist?!”

“They’re heading to the cargo bay, Lord Captain. The one with that latest shipment,” Dee responded.

Emberlyn’s jaw dropped. “The tea!”

*

In the cargo bay, a bloody brawl ensued, lasgun wounds, bloody noses, but nothing a good medic (Blum the medic sighed, he wasn’t paid enough for this) couldn’t fix up.

The boarding patrol turned out to be quite amenable once apologies were said and the tea was returned to its rightful owner. There was a lot to learn from the Albion 33rd Starboard Sentinels and how they conducted their boarding action procedures like a well-oiled machine. 

The Rogue Trader later took some voidsmen down to the surface of a close planetoid for a training drill with the Albion 33rd Starboard Sentinels. Although she turned out to have an ulterior motive – an under-the-table bet with the Commissar to win some precious kilograms of tea. Imperial measurements.

*

Later than night, the Rogue Trader threw her dinner party, which could only be described as excess in abundance. We’re talking chandeliers, high-society upper-deck crew members, dozens of tables, each adorned with fresh flowers, steaming pots of tea and purity seals.

A full orchestra played background music as the guests mingled, enjoying their tea and company within the grand hall.

“Emberlyn,” Inquisitor Stella said, cosying up to the Rogue Trader. “Since when were you bulletproof? I saw you take a dozen lasguns and a melta shot to your coat earlier, with nothing more than a mild burn.”

Emberlyn grinned. “Oh yes, I lined my coat with Truesilver Weave. Impressive archeo-tech, worthy of a Rogue Trader such as myself. It’s what my veil is made of too. Anyway, I should thank you for your – oh wait, my guests have arrived. I shall thank you later.”

Emberlyn nodded towards her guests from the ACS Arethusa: Commissar Fergus MacLeod and his plus one – Ensign Thrak, the Bullgryn who had suplexed Stella earlier that day.

“Watch your back, Emberlyn,” Inquisitor Stella said, making herself scarce. “These are strange times.”