# The Black Crow - Prologue



## Void_Dragon (Jun 11, 2009)

Prologue
927.693.M41

Chief Boatswains Mate (Second Class), Regis Corbett, Sword of Umbarius, Scarus Battlefleet, Imperial Navy. That’s what his discharge papers stated. 11 years in the service, and after one bar fight, that was all he had to show for it. But better that than stay in for another few weeks, and get dishonourably discharged when the engineer from the Valiant pressed charges for the 12 stitches on his right cheek, and the cracked rib…

Yes, much better. He didn’t have a family to support; he had been away too long, and the only woman he would ever have considered settling down with had found someone new. He had no chem habits, no vices, and was still young. He could afford this minor setback. Of course, his dreams of one day commanding his own battleship were out the window. Even if he did get rehired to an Imperial force, this would be on his record; he would never get his command.

No, his Navy career was gone. All because of one or two too many grain liquors during a well-earned over night break on Sameter. He didn’t like it, but he knew his only ways to continue his space-faring career were to join an Imperial Free Trader, or to join a Rogue Trader. “So,” he asked himself quietly, whilst sipping a cup of hot coffee, “Free, or Rogue?”

On the one hand, he could join a Free Trader. With his experience as a Petty Officer in the Navy, any Free Trader would be happy to take him on, and they wouldn’t have the clearance to check his records, find out about this whole embarrassing incident. But Free Trader life had always sounded boring. Free? Ha! Free to travel the same trade routes year in, year out, picking up the same boring produce, running it back to the big city planets to sell for a pittance. Never able to deviate from the routine, for fear of losing Trader status for not meeting a Guild order. Free indeed.

And then there were the Rogues. They would find out about his record. People didn’t ask “how”, but the Rogue Traders always knew things like that. But they wouldn’t care, he was sure of that. And what would that life offer him? Adventure, new places, new beginnings. The life he had looked up at the stars and dreamed of as a child. His grandfather had been a Rogue Trader, but had disappeared out in Lucky Space when he was just a teenage boy. He had never seen him since.

“I thought I had grown out of that idea…” He mumbled to himself, draining the last of his coffee, and throwing a 5 crown note down on the table, to pay for the 3 mugs he had gotten through in the last half hour of quiet contemplation. He dragged himself out of his booth, neatly folding the 12x20cm piece of paper that was the record of his life’s work, and slipping it into his jacket pocket.

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He stepped out into the cold winter air of Messina, pulling his jacket tighter around his lean, well muscled body. It was later than he had thought, the first moon already visible, a huge, pale blue orb hanging in the sky - the Hunter’s Moon. Trying not to think about what he was doing, he let his feet guide him down to the waterfront, to the underground dives that were known as the place where Rogue Traders congregated, an ugly stain on his homeworld. He found the bar he was looking for. The Lucky Crown. He had heard the place mentioned in the fleet, a known Rogue Cartel House, where the Rogue Traders gathered to decide on prices which could undercut the Imperials, without hurting each other’s operations. Hypothetically, this was where one came to find work. Realistically? He wouldn’t be surprised if it was all a stinger op’ amongst the fleet, and Naval Security pulled him in the second he entered.

He knocked on the big, solid oak door - this may be a Public House, but what little he knew of Rogue Traders told him it was far from accepted etiquette to just let oneself in - and waited. After a few seconds, a hatch in the door, about 2 metres up, slid open. A pair of eyes could be seen through it, illuminated slightly by the street light which bathed Regis in a harsh amber glow. They were twist eyes, he could tell that instantly. One a deep green, the other pink, with bloodshot arteries bulging around it. The twist glared down at him, waiting for him to talk.

“I heard… From a friend… That this was the place to come to get work with… Traders.” Regis said, choosing his words very carefully.

“Mmm, well maybe ye hear good, lil man. Ger your skin lil ass in here, we’ll see what the big guys tink of ya.”

The big door swung slowly inwards, and Regis stepped inside. He was met by a blast of warm air, carrying the scent of lho and obscura. The twist, a huge man with a frosting of scales covering his arms and cheekbones, pointed him towards a group of 6 men and women sitting around a table in the corner, sipping liquors from long glasses quietly playing a game with cards and dice. He started to walk across the bar towards them, when the twist grabbed him by the arm. He leaned close, and Regis could smell the huge man’s breath, a sour stink of cheap Lambic and something strongly acidic; it took Regis a few seconds to realise that the acid was probably the twist’s natural saliva.

“Be nice now boy, or thems Trader types might give yer a few lessons in manners…”

It was too late to turn back now, so Regis walked across the bar, feeling the eyes of all the patrons pressing down on him, incredulous that he dared approach the Rogue Trader’s table. In fact, the only people who weren’t looking at him were the traders, who were either too engrossed in their game, or choosing to ignore him.

A few paces from the table, he begun to announce himself, but was cut off before he had got out so much as “I am” by one of the Traders, a woman who looked no older than him, yet spoke as if she had seen the whole galaxy twice.

“If you are looking for a job, boy, I can assure you, none of us are about to hire a Navy reject. If you are looking to join the game, you don’t have enough capital. On the other hand, if you are about to buy us a round of drinks, welcome to the group.”

He looked around the table, at the 2 women and 4 men, all looking about the same age as him, but with the eyes of those who have seen it all and the tell-tale signs of rejuvenation surgery showing them to be many times his age. One of them looked up, asking what his name was. He answered, and the man looked surprised, placing his cards face down on the table and walking around to Regis to look more closely.

“Regis Corbett… Regis, Regis, Regis… Little Rex Corbett… My, my, my… Your grandfather always spoke so highly of you… I always wondered how long it would take for his favourite grandchild to come in to the family business. Well, why don’t you just grab a seat, and have a drink - ignore Marionette, drinks are on the house to Traders and their associates.” The man slipped back into his seat, and picked up his cards, and the group returned to their game, without another word. Regis slipped into the seat opposite him, and helped himself to a glass of malt liquor with a fizzy cola mixer.

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Rex? He hadn’t been called Rex for 15 years. No one called him that other than his grandfather. He could still remember his 12th birthday, the last time he had seen his grandfather. His grandfather, tall, smart, friendly and adventurous, had made it back to Messina just in time for his birthday party, landing a small shuttle in his back garden, tearing up a large portion of the lawn with the landing thrusters. His mother had screamed at him for hours, but he had ignored her, grabbing his “Little Rex” in a big bear hug, and presenting him with a pendant of a glistening stone that resembled Lapis Lazuli, but which became almost transparent in some lights. It was a beautiful thing, that his grandfather had picked up on one of his travels.

“Now listen here Rex, this necklace, it’s special. I got it from a tribe of psykers down galactic south. It may seem like just a pretty trinket, but it’s actually something called a Mind Stone. Slowly, every time you wear it, it opens up your mind slightly, creating a little part of you that can use minor psychic powers. Wear it every day, and one day, hopefully, we will be able to talk astropathically, so we will never be apart when I’m on my travels.”

He had worn it every day since. He wore it even now. But he had never heard his grandfather again.

Regis snapped out of his revere, noticing a change in the atmosphere of the Traders. The man sitting opposite him, and the man beside him were the only ones still holding cards, the others already out. The one opposite him had a scared look on his face, and was staring down at the betting kitty. Regis followed his gaze, and saw what he was staring at. A slip of paper, the deed of ownership to a star ship, lay on the top of the pile.

“I don’t have anything to match that with… I’m a first mate, not a captain. I don’t have a ship to wager.” The man opposite was saying. The man at Regis’ side chuckled to himself, and replied, with an air of nonchalance that was obviously forced, “I’ll accept you. Indentured servitude for… Let us say… 8 years. 8 years as my valet.”

The man opposite sat thinking. 8 years in indentured servitude, against the chance to win his own ship. He had an ace up his sleeve though, so to speak. Hanging around his neck, hidden under his shirt, on a thin gold chain, was a necklace he had been given by his old captain, the great Dante Corbett. The so called Mind Stone was apparently tuned to communicate directly with another stone, one which, at last count, was in the possession of Little Rex Corbett, the grandson of his old captain. He had never used it before, not believing it could work, let alone that Rex might still have his. But it was worth a try. Keeping his look of contemplation carefully on his face, the man thought the code word to himself, repeating it 3 times as he had been told. He felt the stone grow cold against his skin and he saw Regis give a start as he felt the same sensation from his pendant.

+Rex? Can you hear me? It’s Janus, the man opposite you. Just picture me in your mind and think, and I should hear you. Tell me what cards the man beside you is holding.+

Regis was too scared to argue, so he carefully darted his eyes to the left, reading the 3 cards held by the man beside him. He pictured the face of the man sitting opposite him, this Janus, and thought;

+Two aces, and a queen.+

+Well worth the risk. Thanks kiddo.+

Janus pulled a sheathe of paper from his pocket, and picked a pen up off the table. He scribbled something on it, and signed his name at the bottom. He threw the paper into the kitty, and laid his cards on the table. A four, an eight, and a king. Was that good? Regis wished he understood the rules of the game.

The man beside him laid his on the table too, and they peered across at each other’s cards, Janus feigning interest.

“An interesting state. 2 dice to me, 3 to you. Five plus go to me, 4 or less to you. You throw first.”

Janus nodded, and picked up on of the five dice that lay in the centre of the table. He flicked it onto the tabletop, and it landed with the five face up. One point to the man beside Regis. The man smiled, and picked up the second dice. He tossed it, and another five was shown. Another point to him. Regis guessed rightly that a third point to the man would win the game for him.

Janus threw the third dice, scoring a two. One point back to him. He was sweating now, tiny beads of perspiration trickling their way down his forehead.

“I’ll let you back out now, Jan. Fold, and I’ll accept one year as my servant instead of the eight.” The man said calmly. Janus thought for a minute, then replied, “Two dice left, a 1/3 chance of each one winning the game for you, gives the odds as 2:1 against me. I’ve won against far worse odds in the past. Throw.”

The man threw. A four. Neck and neck. Now the man was sweating. He now had a 1/3 chance of gaining his servant, and a 2/3 chance of losing his star ship. Regis had heard of Rogue Traders winning ships in card games, but had never believed it. Would the man really hand over the deed to a multi-million crown star ship, that probably earned him at least half a million crowns each year, over a card game? From the smile on Janus’ face, it seemed he believed he would.

Janus picked up the last die, and held it in front of his face, breathing slowly, gazing at it’s matt green surface. He rubbed it against the collar of his shirt for luck, and held it in front of his mouth. He blew on it as he tossed it down on to the table, and closed his eyes as it bounced and rolled across the top. Regis watched the die fall, watched it bounce, coming to rest just in front of him, the “one” face up. He looked across at Janus, who’s eyes were still pressed tightly together.

+You won+

Janus opened his eyes, and his gaze found the die lying on the other side of the table. He really had won. He had his own star ship. A nice one at that, for he had seen the ship earlier in the day, resting at high anchor next to his own ship. The man opposite thumped the table hard, scattering the gaming chips, glasses and dice across the room. He stood up, and virtually threw Regis out of the way, storming from the bar.

Regis bent down and picked up the pale pink slip of paper, saving it from the oily liquid running towards it from one of the smashed glasses. He handed it to Janus, who still sat at the table, an incredulous look on his face.

“Guess drinks are on me…” Janus mumbled, a cheeky grin creeping across his face.

Janus didn’t speak to Regis for a while, too busy being congratulated by the other rogues and the various patrons of the bar. After an hour or so, he sauntered across to Regis, a drink in his hand, and nodded towards the door. The two walked out of the bar, leaving on a round of applause, stepping into the cold night. Janus walked over to the railing that ran along the waterfront, and leaned over, looking out into the calm, black, night sea.

“You knew my grandfather?” It wasn’t so much a question, despite his inflection, but more of a disbelieving statement. Nobody had known his grandfather intimately enough to know the name “Little Rex”. His grandfather had never been one for close friends. He had ever been the aloof socialite, the man everyone knew of, but no one actually knew.

“He was my captain, ‘till a few years back. I was just an engineer on his ship, but he sort of took me under his wing. Throne, must have been what, 15 years since I saw him last? Night of your 12th birthday. Dante came to me, soon as he got back on the ship. Gave me the necklace, same as he had to you. Asked me to find you, look after you, if anything ever happened to him. Then he jumped ship. Left everything to his first mate, and headed off towards Lucky Space in a Deep Space Probe Pod. Haven’t seen him since. But he’s still out there, I’m sure. Word would get around if the great Dante Corbett wound up dead at some free trade station.

I served on the Black Crow for a few more years after that, but then got a better chance somewhere else. It just wasn’t the same on the old bird without Dante…”

Regis listened in awe to the whole speech, leaning on the railing next to Janus, gazing unseeing out over the black water. It was then that Janus gave Regis the biggest chance of his life. Smiling over at him, Janus commented;

“I’m going to need a first mate, you know?”


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Excellent read. One thing though - it got easier to read later on - and the only reason for that was that you split the paragraphs more 

Also, I've learnt from experience that less is more  You'll get more people commenting if you split a chapter up over many posts, over a few days


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

I like it :victory:


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Excellent story mate! I really liked it. Well-thought and easy to read. Hope to see more soon!

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## waltzmelancholy_07 (Sep 30, 2008)

Expecting more!:biggrin:...


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## Void_Dragon (Jun 11, 2009)

Chapter 1 is about half finished, and is set 4 years later. I will finish it in the next couple of days with any luck (got my final AS Level exam today, so I'll be free to write to my heart's content come 2:30 this afternoon). Far more action in the next chapter - a few stunts, and a little combat (though I'm being careful to keep some of my ideas for later chapters...). Glad you all like it so far. =]


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

I cant wait to reead the next chapter
i enjoyed this alot
great stuff


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## Void_Dragon (Jun 11, 2009)

Chapter 1 is up:

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=39855


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