Lady Charuv

Starting with the lady was simple enough. Anika called at her home, which was modest by the standards of nobility, and was ushered to a sitting room filled with slightly too much overstuffed furniture. Seated on chairs one would have difficulty extracting oneself from later, and plied with tea served in porcelain cups with kittens painted on them, Anika and Macharius were greeted by a young lady in a frilly dress and powdered wig. To both of them, though, the outfit felt slightly off, like Charuv was putting on appearances and would have been more comfortable in something practical and utilitarian. The dress and wig were what was expected from high society, and she bore them awkwardly, sipping tea slowly and smiling politely as she waited for them to explain the purpose of their visit.

Echo

"You misunderstand me," Sargon said, "By my estimation, the space hulk was considerably safer. Or, at least less of a gamble. What was aboard was largely known, the timeline available was known, and even if a mission aboard had gone awry, the overall threat to the well-being of the ship and her crew was minimal. The Astra Telepathica's bounty has existed for some time now, and has never been claimed. Never. To my knowledge, no-one has even tried."

The mutant sighed, a peculiar sound, when filtered through the fluids in his tank. "Do you imagine that I wish for you to die?"