First Officer's Log

Being the journal-entries of Cymbry Jayden Petraeus din Alt van Toeval, First Officer and acting Factotum of the Vessel-of-Warrant The Cleansing Light, commencing with its formal recognition as a recommissioned ship of the Imperium.


Summary: A personal account of the rise to prominence of the present holder of the Vain Warrant of the ship Cleansing Light, and of those who support him in his endeavours.

Significant Actions and Achievements:

  • Acquiring, crewing, and outfitting the Cleansing Light and its Warrant.
  • Shooting the Maw, and thereby becoming 'true' Rogue Traders of the Koronus Expanse.
  • Gaining entry to the Quest for the Dread Pearl, and succeeding in locating and visiting the prize.
  • The War Against the Harbingers, known in common parlance as the Rak'Gol.
  • Services for the Holy Inquisition, and attendant side-ventures of profit both mercantile and intellectual.
  • Entry to the dance of the Haarlocks, with the acquisition of gifts, clues, warnings, and then the Light of Destiny.
  • Attempting to save the galaxy from disasters both clockwork and chaotic.

Our Failures and Longer-Lasting Concerns:

  • The resentment of those who lost out to Sebastian in the winning of the Warrant, including its former holder.
  • The accidental betrayal of Captain Abel Gerret and Madam Charlabelle Armelan at the Dread Pearl.
  • Our Lord Captain's knack for parrying with his face.
  • The descent into (or at least towards) madness of our Lord Captain… and others within the senior crew.
  • The demise of - now - what must be a hundred thousand crew in our service since the Light was first raised.
  • The growing interest of the Inquisition in our operations and personnel.
  • The decreasing levels of harmony and mutual confidence among the senior officers.
  • The impending return of the two xenos races / invasions for which the Rak'Gol were merely to be the Harbingers
  • The threat of a Crusade of the Arch-Enemy
  • The identification by many observers of us as the latest addition to the Haarlock dance and contests.

Note: It seems that damage sustained in some of our battles has unfortunately wiped all but the longest-preserved entries in this log. As a result, most of what follows has been reconstructed from memory, in many cases long after the events occurred.