It had been five years since the Fair Lady limped back into port near the bustling hive of Scintilla. The damage to the great Ironclad was catastrophic. Entire decks lay in ruin , scoured by the intense heat of Eldar lances. The xenos had chased her from the Koronus expanse but she'd made away with treasure they coveted above all else , a host of guardian's soul stones lost to her armsmen. The costs were high in this endeavor however. Great plates of adamentium were all but melted to little better then glass and the list of casualties numbered well into ten thousand. The might of the small Eldar fleet she'd outran was no laughing matter , they'd robbed the ship's master of years of profit and savings but in the end it mattered little. The master had found their favor from whom they sought it most with her gifts from the plunder,  a ship could always be rebuilt.<br/><br/>And so it was. Five long years of perhaps the most expensive undertaking that the Rogue Trader who owner the vessel had ever seen. Thousands of thousands of men and women working day and night to refit the great ironclad and make her warp-worthy once more and even then it was hardly enough. Scintilla had massive manufacturing and labor capability and the Machine Cult presence on the world was more than happy to lend its manpower to D'Crux , especially with the Magos-explorator at the ship master's right hand but it still fell short. Labor was then coordinated from surrounding systems and sub systems and entire manufactorums shifted production schedules at the promise of throne gelt.<br/>It was three months ago that the near sector-wide undertaking had finally been completed, the last manufactorum had exhausted its supply of adamentine and the last blessing made by the Tech Priests of Mars and their overseer. How ironic the captain found it that when her beautiful ship was whole once more that the hardest tasks of all began. There were debts to be paid and promised to be made good on as well as favors to lend,  the most valuable thing of all for someone with as much power and influence as a Rogue Trader to give. It was then that crew was also to be levied which was most certainly not as easy as the romanticized novelas made it seem. There was no casual stroll into a lower hive bar full of men and women qualified for shipwork as disappointing as that revelation was to Ana.<br/><br/>The last three months were once again filled with a sector wide effort to recruit ratings and lower officers and they'd payed off well. There was one thing left to do. There was to be a gathering aboard her ship,  an event to both show her thanks to Scintilla's elite and of course further her own goals in recruiting for her retinue.the invitations were extravagant,  minted gold coins with the shipmasters own face in relief upon them. No other print marred the precious metal but instead when keyed to the genetic markers of the individual they were supposed to be delivered to a small holographic message played that clearly supplied the date of the event and where to head to board one of the extravagant Arvus Ligther shuttles to be ferried to the waiting ship. The invitations were sent four weeks in advance of and of the invited five hundred not one had declined - perfection.<br/><br/>And now on the day of the great event excitement buzzed around the elite circles of Scintilla. When evening fell and the time to depart towards the ship had come those invited would make their way towards the city's most prominent port and board one of the Ligthers waiting there. No expense had been spared as they would see. Rich Amasec and wine flowed freely , even in the holding areas of the shuttles. When the shuttles did eventually make it to their destination many a guest already had a rosy hue to their cheeks and a slight slur to their word though a devoted few chose to remain sober.<br/>They were greeted by smartly dressed servants, young women and men in fine suits and dresses respectfully that escorted them along while an honor guard clad in gleaming carapace and armed with gilt bolt rifles watched on, their visors reflecting the warm lighting of the ship. The guests were lee to the bridge where they found an even more spectacular sight awaiting them, even more so than the paintings that adorned the vaulted ceilings and wide corridors of the ship. Here the normally bustling command centre of the ship had been turned into a fine dining hall with a grand feasting table facing the giant sheet of void glass that made up the farthest 'wall'. There was a great view of the void offered as they wined and waited to dine, the whole affair smacking of sophistication and class.<br/><br/>Servitors served the guests in this room, all of them beautiful and well preserved women clad in little more than wraps that left their shoulders bare as they carried large trays full of drinks with silent precision.When they were asked to stop they did so with a polite grace, never one breaking their passive silence no matter what was said. It seemed the as of yet missing shipmaster had also provided entertainment in her absence in the form of an excellently skilled quartet that played popular high Gothic music from throughout the Imperium , interspersed with a few more patriotic pieces of course Some guests got up and danced occasionally when more energetic pieces were played but mostly the crowd remained content to talk and drink, waiting for the grand entrance that was sure to come.<br/><br/>Almost an hour had passed and the shipmaster had yet to make her appearance. Perhaps she was just giving her guests time to warm up but soon enough conversation about her was buzzing. She of course heard it all in her cabin while she watched shuttles ferry back and forth through the void glass that made up her own wall. Lips pursed as she bided her time and thought of the one woman who she'd taken particular care to invite. Would she even attend?  Would she evrn care?  The thoughts stung as she turned her back to the beautiful view of the planet below,  now was time to ready herself for her entrance, not dally on the past.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>