"This is shit!" I exclaimed and opened my eyes wide, then stood up.
I was lying in a luxurious bed, completely naked, the body was again clearly not mine and belonged to a very muscular man with a bunch of scars. The lower half of the body was covered with a velvet blanket, and the room itself was very reminiscent of a captain's cabin. Only there were no portholes, but everything was in semi-darkness due to not the brightest lamps, the furniture was in the Gothic style, there were a lot of skulls and...
- Why did you jump up? - a gentle voice asked me. - Did you have a nightmare? I thought you weren't afraid of anything.
And then a gentle hand touched my neck. A beautiful and stately woman ran her fingers a little lower, ran them along my shoulder, then came close and hugged me from behind. Her hot chest pressed right against my back, while sweet lips kissed my neck. However, I still felt a catch, I couldn't believe that I was so lucky. Although it might not have been about luck.
"Relax, what's wrong?" the woman suddenly asked, after which she turned my head towards her by the chin.
She was truly beautiful. Noble features, aristocratic white skin, long black hair and a predatory look. Yes, she looked dangerous, but that only made the emotions even brighter and the excitement stronger. Only the augmentation instead of an eye was a little annoying, but overall the cybernetic implant went well with her image. And I didn't look into her eyes for long, reflexively moving my gaze lower.
"Everything is back to normal," the woman smiled and kissed me, simultaneously dragging me under the blanket.
Gradually, understanding came to me. The memories of the previous owner of the body remained, but it was difficult to use them. The knowledge was there, but I couldn't remember what. So, when I saw a woman, the name immediately appeared on my tongue - Vindoriya Kilora. I myself was a mercenary and bodyguard that she liked, although in fact - a toy for love pleasures.
And we were on a space trading ship and doing something like trading? Yeah, I had some trouble with this mercenary's memories. So I'll have to adapt to the situation. But suddenly I was enlightened by the last moment of this mercenary's life.
He lay in bed, paralyzed and in agony counting the last beats of his heart. It was obvious even to me that he had been poisoned. However, Vindoria was lucky that I had entered his body and she did not wake up with a corpse in her bed. I wonder who decided to kill me?
- Huf... you didn't even try to seize the initiative today, - Vindoria said at the end and got off me. - However, I liked it better this way.
She smiled, then stretched and crawled out from under the blanket, and then headed to the giant closet to get dressed. I continued to lie there, trying to digest everything that had happened and remember as much as possible. However, very quickly I caught myself simply admiring the curves of Windoria's body.
"You hurry up too," she said, turning around and already buttoning her white shirt. "You'll accompany me on my rounds. It seems the quartermaster's efficiency is worthy of more attention."
I quickly got my bearings and began to pull on my clothes, and then my gear. These included a bulletproof vest made of ablative and shock-absorbing materials, as well as two stub revolvers of the "Cutthroat" model. Nothing supernatural, but as soon as I took the holster in my hands, I immediately felt a certain warmth in my chest. These firearms were simple but reliable weapons and more than once saved their owner from trouble.
And the bulletproof vest looked a little shabby, you could see the trace of a lasgun shot, the heat of which had dissipated, but left a stain. Well, there were scratches from shrapnel or maybe even bullets, I didn't really understand and therefore couldn't say for sure. Overall, I looked like a mercenary, even though the gothic fashion made its own adjustments.
Meanwhile, Vindoria threw on her luxurious cloak with the Kilor dynasty crest. Yes, she was clearly influential, but to what extent even the previous owner of the body could not say, because he had met her relatively recently. For him, this woman was the path to wealth and a comfortable pension, but the fool ended up with only poison.
"I hope I don't go after him," I muttered, swallowing, not even knowing whether to tell Windoria that they were trying to send me or not.
"What are you saying?" asked Vindoria, pinning up her hair.
- Ready to carry out the task.
- Great.
It was scary to open my mouth, because although the language apparently was transferred to me after the transfer, but with the rest... Anyone could burn me because of some tiny detail. One extra word and that's it, I would be shot, interrogated and then shot, maybe they would hand me over to the Inquisition or not. However, I was sure of one thing - in this dark world nothing good would be done to me.
So I tried to say as little as possible and looked as stern as possible. Fortunately, my face was like a brick and it seemed that the mercenary had not been particularly verbose before. So I simply walked along the gloomy deck, tried not to be too surprised by the creepy servitors and gained experience.
During my wanderings, I found out that the ship we were flying through the warp to other worlds belonged to the free trader Mologost. Mologost had apparently served in the Imperium's navy before, but for some reason he decided to change his activities. In turn, the Imperium was always interested in such reckless captains, ready to travel to the far corners of the galaxy and revive trade, conduct reconnaissance and generally serve the good of humanity.
Mologost also had about a dozen ships under his command, including military ones, as well as significant military forces in general. They were provided by the Kilora dynasty, which sent its daughter to keep an eye on Mologost. Still, a lot of money was invested in this free trader, and although everyone, of course, served the Emperor and blah-blah-blah, it was necessary to come out on the plus side.
So Vindoria went around the crew, checking on the personnel, and also making reports for her family, monitoring how each throne was used. The throne is the local currency.
"Xenos," I said, following Windoria, noticing that they were clearly not people.
- M? No, they're just mutants, - she answered, squinting her augmented eye. - The xenos seem to be only on the laser installation.
"Won't there be any problems?" I asked, remembering that the Imperium didn't like xenos very much.
- If we don't return to Terra with them, then there won't be. And it's unlikely that anyone will be able to ask this ass of peace from us. You just understand, all this imperial technology is good, of course, but you'll get tired of servicing it. So I turn a blind eye to the fact that Mologost trades with xenos. And I don't give a damn about mutants either, cheap labor will never be superfluous.
Despite her status, Windoria communicated with me calmly and almost as an equal. This both pleased and bothered me. After all, it was possible that this attitude was the reason for my poisoning. There were probably other people from the Kilor family here who did not like Windoria's intercourse with some lousy mercenary. However, for now this is just a theory.
Soon we reached the bridge, where Vindoria found the captain. I followed her like a shadow and continued to maintain maximum composure, monitoring the situation. Although I was neither a mercenary, nor a bodyguard, nor even a soldier, but it was possible not to be one, but simply to appear so.
The captain was in the center, looking out at the planet through giant windows that resembled stained glass in temples. Mologost was a tall, broad-shouldered man, whose every action demonstrated incredible military bearing. Even when he was just standing, he radiated confidence and firmness, and his aura spread to everyone on the bridge. On his belt hung a saber in a scabbard, energy pistols. The cloak with a high collar looked menacing, and the aquila insignia did not let him forget who exactly he served. His black hair was gathered in a ponytail, and he himself was talking about something with the commander standing next to him.
Often, military forces were provided to Rogue Traders from the Imperium, and so it was in this case. The authorized officer with the rank of commander had previously commanded a squadron of assault craft, but after the death of the commander, he was promoted by Mologost, bypassing other senior officers. However, no one argued with Mologost, for the Imperium was far away, as were its laws. Here, efficiency was paramount, and Commander Gorn was considered the best candidate.
And it was worth understanding that Mologost had been traveling the edge of the galaxy for a very long time, during which he had fully earned the trust of everyone in his fleet. And even the military forces that were provided temporarily and will have to return to the service of the Imperium, it seems, have already become loyal first and foremost to Mologost. Terra was far away, as was the light of the astronomicon, and Mologost was always nearby and fairly solved all problems, saving the fleet from the most terrible troubles.
"Stand here and watch," Vindoria ordered sternly, changing her mask and beginning to behave differently in public.
I nodded and stopped practically at the entrance, while Windoria herself went to discuss important matters with Mologost. There were guards on the bridge, also guardsmen, although their equipment had long since been replaced by more advanced ones. There were no supplies, so everything was purchased in different types of worlds, some of which could belong to xenos. And in order to survive, as well as to complete the assigned task, Mologost was sometimes forced to trade even with the enemies of the Imperium.
Although he was not allowed to go beyond the line. After all, there were even tech-priests from Mars on board the ships. The entire Imperium and this fleet in particular rested on these guys, and although they could make some compromises for survival, there were many things they could not turn a blind eye to. However, even so, Mologost was forced to argue with them every day, because the use of xenos technology was considered the highest sin and techno-heresy.
However, in contrast to this, Mologost also contributed to the search for STC (Standard Template Constructs), which were used by the colonies for development. Now much knowledge was lost and the Adeptus Mechanicus dedicated themselves to the search for this vital knowledge. So, for the most part, the tech-priests simply tried not to contact the xenos and their technologies in order not to provoke a conflict. Although it was also worth understanding that all people are different and even among the tech-priests there were those who treated xenos technology differently and walked a dangerous line, researching and sometimes even adapting techno-erithic knowledge with the technologies of the Imperium.
"Yes, we'll have a lot of problems when we return," even I had this thought, although I understood little about this world.
However, for the Imperium, this was the norm. If you were not a free trader, you were definitely a criminal. Either the Inquisition would cut him out along with the dynasty that financed him, or he would become arrogant and appear on Terra with a fleet that included xenos ships. Yes, this did happen, although if the case was not severe, they could turn a blind eye to everything and simply carry out a purge. After all, a free trader is always an extremely experienced captain, who is, without exaggeration, a strategically important resource.
"It seems I've lived much longer than last time," I thought, and I even grinned, which immediately provoked disapproving glances from the captain's guards.
To them, I was a black sheep, some overly pompous mercenary who had been dragged onto the bridge by a rich patroness. They were professional soldiers who had been through ice and fire, tempered in hell itself and had long forgotten their home. It was a good thing I didn't particularly care about their opinion.
Meanwhile, arguments began on the bridge. Windoria was furiously arguing something in a half-whisper, and Gorn had apparently been told to shut up. Mologost, though he kept his cool, had changed something in his behavior, causing the tension to grow exponentially.
"Leave the bridge," he suddenly said, and although the words were quiet, they echoed across the bridge like thunder.
Everyone fell silent and even the onboard computers seemed to work more quietly. Windoria turned pale, either from rage or fear, but after two long seconds she finally obeyed. In a rage, she turned around and, like a fury, quickly rushed to the exit, gritting her teeth. Yes, apparently there was much more anger in her than fear.
"Pompous bastard," Vindoria said angrily as we walked down the dark corridor, heading to her personal cabin. "He's completely forgotten his place, the bastard. My family gave him everything! And he dares to argue with me!"
She flew into her cabin like a storm, after which she put her hands on her hips and began to look around the room as if she was looking for something on which to vent all her anger.
"He is still the captain, and the captain's word is law. On the bridge, he is even higher than the Emperor himself," I blurted out for some reason, because life had not yet taught me that you need to think first and then open your mouth.
Windoria's own eye widened to its limit, and she turned to me, and for a second it seemed that she would kill me. Not only did I dare to contradict her, but I did it in the heat of the moment. Well, and mentioning the Emperor was out of the question, because even though I was right in fact, but saying such a thing out loud... I should have at least found out the extent of Windoria's religiosity, and only then commit such suicide.
"That's why I like you," Vindoria suddenly blurted out, coming up to me point-blank. "You're an impudent mercenary."
And she bit me on the neck, and bit me for real, so much so that blood started to flow. Yeah, this woman clearly never denied herself anything and was a spoiled bitch who could use a good spanking. Mologost probably thought the same, but a single incident won't change her character and she'll continue to assert her rights, forgetting that she's basically just an honorary observer without any power.
So this time I was lucky, too, because I got off with a light fright and sex. True, I did not experience much pleasure. Yes, she was beautiful and skilled, but I played the role of a living toy, as if I were her slave, a kind of dog on a leash. Therefore, such dominant treatment exclusively killed my male pride. However, I did not resist like a ram, because the patronage of Vindoria is the guarantor of my life.
And I could shoot myself and be reborn again at any moment. It's just that for objective reasons this particular rebirth wasn't as terrible as it could have been in theory. I could end up in the war again, in the body of a servitor, a Kriegman, a Dark Eldar slave, a Gretchin, or just an obsessed cultist. There were also more prosaic options, such as an invalid, a schizoid, or an orphan child at the bottom of a hive city.
Therefore, I had no right to complain and whine. It could have been much worse, but here everything was pretty good for me. Besides, being at Windoria, I had an exceptional opportunity to look at this world from a rather high point. An ordinary citizen of the Imperium might never even see a xenos, and learn about him or about those dark gods... ooh, no, you can't get any important knowledge that way.
Without knowledge, I will remain a dummy, which everyone will twist as they please. And if I want to stop being someone else's puppet, then it is precisely on experience and knowledge that I should concentrate my own attention. This was my plan, especially since after death, memory and skills remain with me, plus a part of the memories of the previous owner is added.
- Oh, we've gotten carried away, we need to get ready to leave. The Governor of Drakernor is throwing a ball in honor of our arrival. Have you ever been to a ball, Lex? - Windoria asked, still sitting on me.
*
Since you liked the first chapter, I decided to overcome it and release the second and third earlier.
More chapters on my P@treon: https://patreon.com/OOOTEN