This was the thrid time in 7 days, Terran standard, that his Lord has spoken to him on the finer points of bladework.
Sebastyn was of course assured, both by his own experience, and the reputation his Lord had garnered before he came into the Rogue Trader's employ, of the veracity of this professed expertise.
He was also sick to the back teeth of hearing about it.
At first, Sebastyn Vane thought it was some kind of oblique criticism, it's true that he was never educated in the finer points of bladework; his time in the Jopall 121st Rifle Squadron had been mostly occupied with logistics reports, liason work, waitng around for orders, and the occasional, blinding terror of combat.
Despite himself, Sebastyn had become lost in his reveries; wondering if his new position as Provisionary Senechal, that is to say bodyguard-cum-valet for one of the most singularly powerful men in the entire segmentum, was a promotion or a punishment when he was interrupted by the sharp tone of his Lord.
"Sebastyn, am I boring you?"
Instinct prevented him from physically flinching, a bone-deep knowledge drilled into him through an innumerable procession of delicate but intensely boring military proceedings.
"Not at all, Lord Captain." He resisted the urge to shift the focus of his gaze from whatever point it had settled on for the last several minutes.
"Lord /Sterling/." He mildly corrected, his half-lidded eyes drilling into and, or so it seemed to Sebastyn, through his Senechal's very soul, "Have I ever told you why I stole you away from your Emperor-given task in the Astra Militarum?"
"I do believe you stated at the time that you were in need of a logistics officer, my Lord," after an intentionally deferential pause, he added, "Sterling."
"Half correct. If I had wanted a mere toadie, or some number-minded quill-push, I'd have grabbed the collar of the first mildly competent Administratum clerk."
"Then I confess to being unaware, Lord Sterling."
"A large portion of the work a Senechal does, as you should know by now, is dealing with the mundanity of interfaces. Speaking with delegations, understanding dialects, and having the sort of flexibility that requires-" Ignatius Draken Sterling paused, momentarily distracted by, if Sebastyn was to guess, the faintest change in the pitch of the drives aboard his flagship "Argent Missive." Whatever the distraction, it stood for several seconds, leaving the two in an awkward silence.
"Lord?"
"What are your honest opinions on the standard-pattern longlas?" Ignatius was prone to this sort of thing, changing subjects to wrong-foot someone. Sebastyn dourly supposed it was instinct, by this point.
"Pardon, Lord, but do you mean the M-G pattern, the the MVS2? Both are in widespread use by most units in the Guard."
"Is there a difference?"
Sebastyn furrowed his brow; that was like asking if there was much difference between a grox and a sheen-bird, "The M-G is reliable, but it's got a barrel twice the length of a standard las. It's not considered to be compatible with hotshot charges; though you can retrofit it to be if you have the knack. MVS2 is shorter, and a little bit lighter, but it's more prone to barrel issues, especially with hotshot. As the barrel heats it tends to cook the lenses, you have to do a test volley every time you take apart the lens assembly for cleaning to know which way it's going to lean, but that's only if you're-"
"And that," Ignatius interrupted, holding one hand up placatingly, "is why I picked you."
Sebastyn paused, mouth agape.
"Lord Cpatain I-"
"Lord Sterling." He reminded, a small grin tugging at the side of his face.
"Lord Sterling," Sebastyn continued, doing his best to mask his consternation, "There were many other men in my regiment who were much more suited to combat."
"But few, if any, who can do what you can, Mr. Vale."
Sebastyn stared across the room from his Lord Captain. At some point, he had stood, in his usual, silent, bonelessly graceful manner, without Sebastyn's notice. One gloved hand was laid delicately on the hilt of the concernly exotic pattern of chainsword he seemed to favor, the other was holding a dataslate that he was regarding with the sort of distrust one would usually reserve for a dodgy bit of street food. He was donned in the sort of attire he wore when speaking to dignitaries; a finely made greatcoat reminiscent, but subtly distinct in cut and trim, to that of a Imperial Navy admiral's. His boots had been shined, recently, and his clothes had been very obviously recently starched and pressed.
"If it wasn't clear, we will be meeting someone of some import, shortly. You will liase with their valet, confirm the location's security, and then retire to a vantage point where you will be making the second half of your skills useful, Mr. Vale." Ignatius nodded at a small, ornate, wooden footlocker which had been set to one side of the drawing room, "That is for you. I assume you will need time to get to know it. The gymnasium at foredeck Alpha 10 has been reserved for your use until we make berth."
With that, Ignatius bowed, just slightly, "My life is in your hands. Do carry it delicately."
Sebastyn became intensely aware of how dry his mouth was as he tried to form several questions simultaneously. Before he could ask even one, Ignatius Draken Sterling had made for the door, leaving him in the drawing room, along save for the footlocker, and the sound of the Argent Missive's drives.
He walked over to the footlocker, and thumbed the clasp, some ornate shape reminiscent of a 4-winged insect. The latch clicked and the footlocker opened on soundless hinges. Sebastyn let out a low, quiet curse of surprise, as the Urdesh-Pattern Mark IV inside seemed to stare up at him. He gently hefted it; it was exquisitely made, black as the void between stars, and lighter than he had expected. He glanced down, beneath the longlas had been laid a bandolier, with thre of the four slots occupied by top-of-the-line standard las cells. The fourth slot carried a hotshot cartridge, slightly smaller, much denser, and fit with a purity seal. Alongside these, were cloth sheaths with spare las barrels, a cleaning kit, and a small subcompact las pistol with it's own compliment of cells.
Vale couldn't stop a small smile picking at his face as he set the longlas back down and closed the footlocker with a barely audible click.
Had Sebastyn been a different, more vain man, he would have said something, even to himself. Instead, he hefted the footlocker by it's handles, and began the trek to foredeck Alpha 10.
The fact that there isn't a good, solid series about a Rogue Trader doing Rogue Trader things is a FUCKING CRIME.
You could even do it from the perspective of his senechal/command second, in the vein of Sherlock and Watson.
...
*stares at own hands*
...
No. NOPE.
Not gonna.