Kiri and Suki had not quite finished with me after they had finished shaving and styling me to their liking. They had even trimmed the hair on my head but that was, it seemed, merely to neaten things up. I was washed again, oils, and soaps used before the three of us moved to the large bath at last to soak. While genuinely enjoying the hot water and the moment to relax I was treated to a rather obvious interrogation.

 

Kiri politely asked about previous work assignments, my home planet, if I even had a home planet, where I learned to read, what I had seen after the lockdown had been declared, if I had spoken to anyone besides the Pontifex and my present company. 

 

I leaned into a general ignorance and vague answers that would render further digging impolite at best. It seemed that the pair had not been given instructions to dig too deeply as they allowed me to avoid coming up with any direct lies that would likely hinder me in the future.

 

Once we were done with the most intensive adjustment to my personal hygiene in my life I was treated to being towelled down with towels and something resembling a hair dryer. At this point I had pretty much gotten used to the casual nudity until the pair of them got dressed and suddenly the embarrassment returned.

 

I did ask about getting clothes but it was pointed out that I was currently in chains that would make getting dressed rather difficult and if I felt cold there were several clean blankets in the bedroom.

 

Suki left and Kiri invited me to join her in morning prayers. I did my best to obscure my total ignorance of the specifics of the Imperial cult but it was seemingly obvious. Curiously, Kiri did not seem offended in the way that I honestly expected from an adherent of the Imperial Creed and simply began instructing me. I found it remarkably difficult to think about my general situation while Kiri lit several sticks of incense that reminded me of Claudia so I just focused on repeating the prayers that Kiri practically sang.

 

She had a lovely voice.

 

I did not know how long I spent pretending to worship the God Emperor of Mankind before Suki returned with a trolley with a bowl of steaming stew and a loaf of bread. Feeling somewhat dazed at the heady scent of incense, I was sat down at the desk with the food and a pile of papers that would “Keep me occupied.” before I was made to promise to behave myself and wait until Kiri and Suki returned.

 

I hardly noticed them leave as I quickly demolished the food I was given and, without anything better to do I looked through the papers I was given. Some of them were prayer sheets that I found myself lazily reading though for lack of anything better to do until I came across technical documentation on operating cranes.

 

It came out of left feld so suddenly that it knocked me out of the relaxed stupor I had found myself in. Curious I looked through the remaining documents I had been given and found a guide on ship to ship communication equipment and procedures, a handbook on local power breakers and a very basic operators manual for a ‘light cargo engine’ that seemed to be some sort of train from what context I could glean from the well worn paper before me. 

 

Despite the surprise I found myself relaxing while absorbing the incredibly dry technical documentation just like I had with the prayer sheets. I simultaneously felt drowsy and relaxed while capable of intense focus. 

 

It was with a great deal of effort that I stepped away from the desk and slipped into the bathroom before closing the door, taking deep breaths of the starkly clean air of the bathroom compared to the bedroom.

 

I sat on one of the little stools as the fog gradually cleared from my mind and brought with it a wave of fatigue. There was little doubt now, something in that incense had been altering my mental state. It was hard to call what I had experienced malicious but the documents I had been given did indicate that Claudia had been honest when she said she had plans for me. 

 

Power breakers, communication equipment, trains, cranes. What exactly did she have in mind and why was she moving so quickly? She had found me and instantly dedicated resources, time and effort to cultivating me towards some end that she had no real way of knowing if I would be truly suited for it or that I was entirely loyal to her.

 

No, no I was thinking about this wrong. What if her plans did not require a huge degree of competence from me nor loyalty. If she had incense that could alter my focus and make me willing to utterly devour dry technical documents then she certainly had other means of altering my mental state. Moreover I had a rather limited grasp of what capabilities the rest of her ‘flock’ had. I could merely be insurance to already loyal agents. 

 

Controlling the cranes in the Rotunda was an obvious element of her plan, but where did trains come into it? It would not surprise me if there was a train on the ship but... was there a train in the Rotunda?

 

Then there was the Mystery of the ship to ship communication document. Were there other ships around this one? Were we at warp or not? Every now and then something hit the ship with enough force to throw me to the ground so I had simply assumed we were at warp and that was normal.

 

Why would Claudia want to contact other ships? Well besides this one seemingly falling to some kind of chaos cult. A more pertinent question came to mind, how far would I take my captivity to the Imperial cult?

 

I looked at the golden chains connecting my wrists and shuffled in place uncomfortably. The fact of the matter was that without a source of XP any sort of escape was unlikely at best. But my captivity did provide me with food, water and medical treatment and it did not seem like I was in immediate risk of getting killed. It seemed logical to play the game Claudia wanted me to until my life was at risk or an obvious chance to escape presented itself. I could not see myself engaging with a tiny besieged imperial cult on a ship slowly breaking down in the long term. 

 

At least if I survived for one hundred days I had 500 XP waiting for me. Simply doing nothing to accumulate any until then felt... wasteful however. 

 

I let out a frustrated sigh as I got to my feet. Playing along as Claudia’s captive meant giving her no reason to suspect I was disloyal and she had intended to expose me to her focus incense. I could only hope that it did not have any side effects. 

 

---

 

The rest of the day passed remarkably quickly, I studied everything I had been given several times over and as expected I had not grown bored nor lost focus at any point. I had not even truly realised how much time had passed until Kiri and Suki had returned with my dinner. The pair extinguished the incense and led me though a prayer thanking the God Emperor for the food I was going to eat being they simply stood and watched me eat it.

 

When I was finished I was wrapped in a cloak that was long enough to drag along the ground as I hobbled along but thankfully covered me completely from the neck down so long as I kept it wrapped tightly around me. I was then whisked away from the room that had been my cell without so much as an explanation.

 

Suki walked at my side, her arm around my shoulder to guide me where she wanted and to prevent me from tripping up on the chains, keeping my movements at little more than a hobble. Kiri walked behind me, close enough to reach out and grab me if I decided to try anything.

 

In testament to the sheer scale of the religious complex adjoining the warehouse Rotunda I was led down halls I did not recognise in the slightest. Well furnished and extravagant carpeted hallways with pictures and shelves carrying various religious icons. What stood out the most however was how empty everything felt. There were dozens of doorways that remained closed, practically no one passed us as we travelled. It gave the ship a sort of eerie loneliness that had persisted since I first awoke on this ship, in this body. 

 

I was led through a door by Suki into a resplendent atrium. I was once more bombarded with the sweet scent of incense that had been a constant since I had entered the temple complex. This time it was joined with hints of perfume and other obscured rich scents that practically dazed me. The walls were lined with cushions and rich wooden tables low to the ground. To my right and left were hallways obscured by silk curtains and overlooking it all was a second floor balcony. 

 

Unlike other areas of the complex this place was not abandoned however. Two tall broad shouldered men in the familiar purple jumpsuits stood at either side of the room with rifles slung over their shoulders. The pair of them looked bored as their eyes passed over me as if my arrival was perfectly normal, expected even but their expressions changed from boredom to curiosity as they looked at my face. 

 

Perhaps they had expected someone else?

 

“Wait here.” Kiri said as she strode past the guard on the right. Suki and I settled down on one of the Cushions as we waited.

 

“Who’s this then?” One of the guards said at last, looking at Suki.

 

“The Mother found her from what I understand.” Suki said casually, indicating some sort of familiarity with the guard. I shifted in place and did my best to police any annoyance at being talked about while present.

 

“Huh, one of the slaves?” The guard continued.

 

“Sneaking around apparently, half starved to death the poor thing.” Suki said, running her fingers through my hair.

 

“A bedwarmer?” I felt my face burn at the statement and focused intently on looking at the table in front of me.

 

“A labourer from what we can gather.” Suki eagerly gossipped. I kept quiet for now, there was little point in striking up a conversation when I did not know what kind of social position I occupied at the moment. Perhaps I was engaging in an excess of caution but better to be careful and avoid trouble than the alternative. 

 

“A labourer! What’a waste.” The guard laughed and leered at me making me rather glad I had a cloak at the very least to cover myself. 

 

“What’s your name girl?” The other guard asked. “Come on, don't be shy.” 

 

“Livia.” I mumbled earning a titter from Suki who pulled me into a hug.

 

“Livia is very clever and so well behaved aren't you?” Suki cooed at me to the delight of the tall, broad shouldered men.

 

“Don’t be shy girl, we won’t hurt you.” One of the guards ambled forwards only for Suki to pull me deeper into the hug, practically smothering me in her breasts.

 

“Ah ah ah, Livia is all nice and ready for The Pontifex.” At Suki’s words the men laughed.

 

“If it doesn't work out you can entertain us girlie. You can trust us, I’m gentle.” 

 

“Yeah he is boring, you want to actually feel something you should get to know me lass, sides, I won’t dump you with the rest of the useless sods out front.” 

 

“Ignore the stupid men Livia, The Mother has great taste, and besides, we always need more attendants. You can meet the rest of the girls in service of the Pontifex.” The guards both gave a good natured laugh at Suki’s jab as Kiri strode back into the atrium. 

 

“Come with me, Livia.” She said simply as Suki let me go and the two guards looked at me again. I got to my feet in a single motion, careful to keep the cloak wrapped around me before I shuffled forwards towards Kiri.

 

“Say Suki, after your shift are you heading to the inner chapel? Shin is performing a late service...” The conversation was quickly muffled as Kiri led me through the silk curtains and up a set of stairs that I took slowly and carefully. 

 

I was led to a more secure looking set of double doors that opened as Kiri approached, smoothly swinging open without a sound. Inside was a luxurious bedroom that put mine to shame. It was colossal, a truly massive bed dominated the middle of the room while to the right there was a sitting area with a pair of L shaped couches around a glossy wooden table. There were several open doors, one leading to what looked like a little kitchen and another to a tiled bathroom. The left side of the room there was a desk with innumerable documents, datapads and even a large terminal, more advanced than the ones I had come across before.

 

Sitting at the desk was Claudia herself, the Pontifex.

 

“Thank you Kiri.” She said smoothly, looking me over from behind the desk. Kiri simply inclined her head in respect and then turned about on her heel and left the room. The door swung shut silently behind her. 

 

There was an awkward silence for a moment as Claudia merely watched me, drumming her nails on her desk while I did my best not to squirm under her gaze. Eventually she collected herself and stood up from the desk and approached me, stopping several paces away before waving a hand.

 

“Let me have a look at you then Livia.” I did my best not to give any particular expression as I resolved to endure Claudia’s humiliations. I was benefiting from this after all with food, shelter and security. I slipped out of the cloak without much fanfare and let it drop to the floor as Claudia’s eyes trailed over my body with a faint smile.

 

“Don’t you feel better now that you are clean my child?” She spoke at last, stepping forward. “Kiri and Suki are competent, I hope you were not too embarrassed by them.” She reached down and grasped the golden chains that had weighed upon me the entire day and the smooth surface parted, freeing my wrists without any indication of how Claudia was controlling them. 

 

As soon as the chains binding my wrists released the ones around my ankles opened too, falling to the floor as I shifted about, feeling rather strange not to have to carry the weight now.

 

“Thank you.” I said softly.

 

“I told you that they were not for my benefit didn't I?” She spoke with a tone of mild amusement. “Please take a seat my child. I am sure you have many questions.” She turned away from me then and strode towards a glass cabinet, leaving me freed from my chains and nude in the middle of the room. I did not have a good reason to refuse her so I moved over to the couches and settled down.

 

“Would you like something to drink? I imagine that everything has been rather sudden for you.”

 

“Yes please.” I replied, feeling rather thirsty all of a sudden. Claudia nodded and took a bottle with a pair of glasses before sauntering over to the sitting area and planting herself right next to me. In an instant I found myself pressed against Claudia’s side with a glass of what smelled like wine in my hands. 

 

“Now, where should we begin?” Claudia asked and I couldn't help but notice that she smelt of incense.