Commodore Aquairre glared at Thraxius, shaking her head.  "What kind of techpriest are you, anyway?  Better to just turn this smelly thing in to the Mechanicus cult so they can figure out what the machine spirit needs.  Sounds like xeno contamination to me."  She said in a huff, gazing at the couch with no small degree of amusement.  Wing Commander En reached out as if to paw at the air, and gently stroked Arkhah's feathery back, before helping her Commodore up.  "At least it mostly smells like gauze and rubbing alcohol and not like xeno."  Commissar Antony commented, before the group reformed.<br/><br/>They reached the dining room without further incident, and seated themselves according to Imperial protocol.  Cortez took the place of honor at the head of the table, while the Commodore was seated at his right, while Wing Commander En sat across from her.  Commissar Antony took the foot of the table, with Sister Scalia at his right, while the rest of the senior command staff filtered in to the other seats, with Lord Tarsus seated firmly in the middle.<br/><br/>Well dressed servers delivered platters of fine steaks from the best agri worlds of the Calaxis sector, complemented by the ship's finest reserves of amnsec, all the way from segmentum solar.  The room was filled with bodyguards, including more than a few on the balconies above the room, ensuring that no ambush against their beloved commanders would be possible.<br/><br/>Commodore Aquairre withdrew a golden Aquila pin from her uniform, and offered it to Cortez, along with a sealed scroll.  "In light of your heroism, Battlefleet Calaxis has offered you commission as an honorary Commander, as well as the  Solar medal of distinction."  She said, setting down another set of key cards.  "These are the effective litanies to open the treasury vault on Attica station, which currently contain a large administratum bequest that didn't have a chance to get spent before the Reaver attack.  The governor's Lord Baton should also be in there, which will enable you to take control of the orbital defenses of the Ares system."  The Commodore said, happy to be rewarding a hero of the Imperium.<br/><br/>(the group gains +1 profit factor.)