The group jumps from Leminkainen to Byzantium Secundus (or simply B2 as we call it) and make their way to the planet without incident, except for weird dreams shortly before they reach the planet itself.
In the dream Pitt and Marduk find themselves standing in space, on the jumpweb map which was found on Bannockburn. Several figures stand at different locations throughout the map. The most notable of which is the man they saw in a vision on Nowhere, Brother Gustancio, aka "Kalki the Savior." He is seen kneeling and praying as he slides from Pentateuch to Holy Terra. An al-Malik stands on Criticorum, this, they believe, is Duke Rakim al-Malik, who has declared a vendetta against them. He is seen staring at a Charioteer, who is staring intently at them from Leminkainen. Across the map they recognize the old wiseman from Nowhere, Vardhamana, smiling and nodding in their direction. On Pyre they see an Inquisitor beckoning to them, while on far-off Vril-Ya a brown-robed figure stands with its back turned towards them. Kantarra stands in one of the glyphs not attached to the jumpweb. She again has radiant, feathery white wings and is looking upwards. The dream ends with visions of black ships with a bloody "8" emblazoned upon them flying towards a planet, and the scene fades.
Their first stop is Holy City, in hopes that Marduk will be able to join-up with Brother Battle. Kantarra is still in some sort of a deep-sleep / trance, and they decide to not even try to wake her up. After a short tour of the city, they reach the Cathedral of St. Maya. They hang around the Cathedral for a while, though nobody seems to like the fact that an alien is in the Holy City. Disgusted, they decide to leave. Just as they are about to do so, the eyes on the statue of St. Maya begin to cry blood, as they have been known to do at certain times. They pass it off as odd and leave, heading back to the ship. However, as they travel, Marduk finds himself growing hungry, and there is little more hazardous than a hungry Vorox. He decides to take a chunk out of the shoulder of a brute, even though it's still alive. Well to make a very long story short, they end up having to pay for and kill the brute, which Marduk eats.
After finding the ship again, they take off and land in the spaceport and go by monorail to the Imperial City, where they seek-out the Hazat embassy in hopes of being recognized for their stunning victory at Stigmata. All of the embassies are located on Embassy Row, which is bustling with activity - from dueling nobles to Charioteers peddling their goods, to Eskatonics preaching about the end times, etc. Pitt decides that he has to keep an eye out for Myra(s) and the Decados Embassy would be a good place to go after the Hazat Embassy. The group talks with some Hazat guards outside the Embassy, all of which say that something big is happening at the Palace in a few days, and they expect a horde of nobles to descend upon Byzantium Secundus for the event.
Pitt decides to head over to the Decados Embassy, (bad idea) and on the way there he notices a Myra walking around, and though she doesn't openly recognize him, she does give a sort of knowing sideways glance. He attempts to follow her but loses her after a short time. Meanwhile, Marduk and Kantarra are having a drink in the nearby tavern (well, Kantarra's not drinking, but she's there). Pitt, disgusted at his inability to find Myra, heads back to the tavern to meet up with the others. He asks where a good place to find Decados would be, the bartender says maybe the alien section in "drown town," or perhaps a certain gray market smuggling operation he knows on a remote island. The group checks-out the smuggling operation first, but after asking around and finding no leads, they decide to try the alien section.
In "drown town" they find a hole-in-the-wall bar with a multitude of aliens hanging-out, all of whom seem to be low-lifes and criminals of some sort. Nobody here seems to know about Myra or any other Decados, but Marduk finds a couple of other Vorox to talk to. He slides up and starts talking in Vorox, asking for the same drink they're having, which turns out to be one of the nastiest things in all of creation - called "Death's Head's Grin," the drink is barely liquid, more like gel. They get severly intoxicated, and eventually leave the bar. On their way out they're almost attacked by some alien thugs, who soon realize that they would be tangling with the wrong bunch of drunks.
Early the next day they head for the taverns for more intoxication (they spend most of their time on Byzantium Secundus in bars, as it should be). On their way out of the hostel they are staying at, they hear a commotion in the street behind them, and are nearly run-over by a couple of Ukari being chased by someone's bodyguards. The bodyguards shoot the Ukari, killing them both. Marduk, being mister champion of alien rights, steps up to find out why two humans just murdered two aliens.
An Orthodox priest saunters up and announces that the Ukari stole his money. Marduk decides to guard the bodies of the aliens until he is sure he knows the truth about what is going on. The priest demands that his money be returned, but the group backs-up Marduk, though they eventually do return a sum of 50 Imperial Firebirds to the priest, who sort of lights up at the return of his money. After he has his money, the priest insults aliens in general, saying they had no souls. This, of course, pisses-off Marduk, who was trying not to be cynical about humanity, and Kantarra has to step in to try to calm down the Vorox. Pushing his luck, the priest then insults the Order of Brother Battle, which Kantarra responds to by insulting the Orthodoxy and their inability to commit to helping anyone who is truly in need. The group then begins to leave the area, but the priest is still trying to pick a fight with them. The priest eventually hits a nerve with Kantarra by hinting that Brother Battle is involved in heretical acts, such as worshipping bodily development rather than the Pancreator. Kantarra immediately turns and charges the priest, delivering a flying kick to a bodyguard who steps in the way of the priest to absorb the blow. A short fisticuffs ensues, with Kantarra badly hurting all the bodyguards and Marduk restraining her. The priest realizes his protection is gone and decides to save the insults for another day.
They continue their tour of different bars around the city, and in one tavern a Hawkwood noble approaches Kantarra and introduces himself as Baron Gerald Hawkwood. He seems smitten with the lovely Kantarra, and spends much of the day talking to her and the group (but mainly her). He invites them to a party he is holding that night, but Kantarra seems a bit reluctant, trying to come up with excuses ("I don't have anything to wear...." etc. I find it amusing that in 3000 years women still don't have a good excuse not to go out with a guy.) The others egg her on and she eventually agrees to go, with their escort of course. Marduk and Pitt secretly agree to have a dress of some sort made for her, which they shop around for. They eventually find a tailor and give him some idea of what to make, and plan to pick up the dress later that night.
Later that day, Pitt recieves a call from his superiors. A pickup point is arranged and he is taken by flitter to a remote Decados estate where he is briefed. Apparently someone is going to try to destroy the Manx shipyards soon, and his job is to stop the saboteurs. Manx shipyards, Pitt learns, is owned by the Hazat, which raises an eyebrow. Pitt will be accompanied by a Kossack (a really badass Decados special assasin-soldier)named #14. As dusk falls they are transported out to the appropriate site and dropped-off. Pitt is very uneasy about the entire affair, seeing as he's paranoid that the Jakovian Agency may be on to the fact that Pitt tried to assasinate their leader long ago, and this may simply be an easy way for them to get him killed (the Kossacks work for the Jakovians).
The two quickly investigate Manx shipyards, finding it mostly closed for the night. Pitt checks a map he was given with the saboteurs' marked attack route and finds a nice hiding place behind a mound of dirt. They wait a good hour or so, all the while Pitt is formulating a plan to disable and capture some of the attackers in an attempt to find out why they're going after the shipyards, and possibly cross-reference why the Decados are involved here. Meanwhile #14 sits beside him, unnervingly motionless and speechless. Finally Pitt decides to do some recon, more in an effort to get away from the presence of #14. He heads into the swampy path which the saboteurs are supposedly coming in from and hides in a tree, relieved to be away from the Kossack assasin.
A short while later he hears some motion up ahead. Pitt eventually makes out 11 total attackers, a mix of Brother Battle and Avesti Inquisitors, all heavily armed. He yells for them to lay down their arms and surrender, which causes some confusion among them. They don't comply, so the shooting begins with Pitt putting bullets in two of their heads. While they are confused and firing blindly, he sneaks around to another location and again calls for them to surrender. Again they do not do as he asks, and he kills another one. This time though, they see where he is firing from, and Pitt is forced move quickly and use the terrain to avoid their shots. Fortunately, (or perhaps unfortunately for Pitt) #14 comes rushing in and begins slicing and dicing, as Kossacks have been known to do. While #14 is turing them into hamburger meat, Pitt snaps off a few more shots, finishing two more. After all the carnage, Pitt calls for retrieval and investigates the bodies.
He finds some very odd things about the assailants. First off, they didn't fight like he's seen Brother Battle units fight - too amateurish and not enough rallying in the Pancreator's name. Secondly, some of them have tatoos and markings quite uncharacteristic of Church members - black suns and alien markings. Thirdly their boots were odd - standard Muster issue, not Brother Battle-made. Pitt does find a copious amount of explosives, which they were obviously going to use on the shipyards.
The flitter comes, picks them up, and returns them to the Decados estate. During the flight Pitt is debriefed by a superior officer (whose name he never knows). As he leaves the plane with #14, the officer, still in the plane, greets another Kossack by calling him #14 as well, leading Pitt to believe they are all named #14. Pitt is then transported and dropped-off near Imperial City, where he is able to rejoin the others at, you guessed it, the bar. Marduk spent most of that day looking around at whatever tech he could find in the city and checking up on that priest they met earlier, finding that his name is Father Handross, and that he runs a very small church on the outskirts of town. Kantarra spends the day with Gerald, browsing the markets for religious iconography and other such things.
When they meet up again, Marduk and Pitt bring Kantarra to the tailor's shop where her dress is being made. She is surprised and annoyed at the fact that they did all this for her, but nonetheless thankful. Pitt and Kantarra plan to go to Gerald's party while Marduk stays behind and takes care of some business.
Marduk decides he is in need of another sword, since he only has 3 - one of them was destroyed by the creature back on Leminkainen. He seeks-out a blacksmith and haggles a bit about the price of a Glankesh Sword. The blacksmith won't be able to get the Voroxian metals needed for the sword, but he can fashion one out of normal metal. Marduk reluctantly agrees and assists the smith in fashioning the sword. The two come to respect one another during the few hours they work together, and they part ways after the sword is forged, Marduk heads to the party.
At Gerald's estate there is a mix of most every faction in the Known Worlds, including some of the minor factions, though no Decados are present. The group instantly takes a liking to a group of Hazat who are busy telling war stories, which Marduk joins in when he arrives.
Two groups of feuding Hazat, led by Sir Enigo del Caza Eduardo and Sir Santiago Vachez Justus, bring their disagreements to bear. Swords are drawn and immediately one of Sir Enigo's men jumps one of Sir Santiago's entourage. Kantarra happens to be right next to the fight as it erupts, and manages to pull the two apart. She throws the attacker across the room, breaking some chairs, but he returns and attempts to knife Kantarra. Kantarra barely avoids the blade and manages to break her attacker's wrist. Everyone else seems to be in a giant staredown with one another, while the other guests are shocked and dismayed that such violence could happen at a social gathering. Marduk and Pitt cut their way through the crowd to find Gerald watching Kantarra use Theurgy to heal the broken wrist. Gerald looks to the two and says "She is both the angel of death and mercy at the same time, is she not?" Pitt only raises an eyebrow at this and agrees.
The Eduardos and Justus take their dispute outside, where a challenge is made : Sir Enigo and Sir Santiago will duel to the death, and whomever wins can slay all the members of the loser's entourage. As Marduk and Pitt talked at length with Sir Santiago before this, they take a general liking to him, and Marduk even asks to stand in Sir Santiago's place. The offer is refused, as Sir Enigo will not reduce himself to fighting with dirty aliens.
The duel is fought and though he wounds Sir Enigo quite badly, Sir Santiago is killed in the end. There is a dramatic pause as the Justus entourage look on at their executioners, unphased and unafraid to die. The Eduardo entourage tears into them mercilessly and chops them to bits. Enraged by the display and at the fact that their friends just died, Marduk again challenges Sir Enigo, but is again rebuked. Pitt, on the other hand, is highly annoyed and is determined to handle things in a different way. He moves off and gets on the radio to the Decados Embassy. Calling in some favors, he asks for "a #14" to be pulled on the Eduardo entourage. The Decados say they'll do what they can, and Pitt returns to the party, confident that the next morning Sir Gerald will have some strange stains on his lawn (which he does).
Back at the party, the three of them all hear about there being a big meeting at the Imperial Palace tomorrow afternoon - hundreds of nobles from the 5 great houses will be there, along with members of all the other major factions. Marduk and Pitt stay a bit longer but excuse themselves because of the incident with the Hazat (they're still pretty pissed). Kantarra stays behind and says she'll meet them tomorrow at the tavern they've been frequenting.
The next day Pitt and Marduk are walking to the tavern when they encounter a high-ranking Engineer and his entourage. Marduk stops to talk to him, butis spurned because he's an alien. Annoyed, they walk on, but not long after they leave the area, there is a great explosion. They run back to find the whole area in flames, with people screaming and dying all over the place. Marduk recognizes parts of the Engineer, namely his Engineer's Eye. Pitt runs to get help while Marduk begins questioning some witnesses. He notices an al-Malik knight looking on, concerned, and then leaving. Too busy investigating, he does not follow. He does discover that a small boy ran up to the Engineer, gave him a box, and then ran off. The boy was however, caught in the explosion. Bucket brigades and fire control teams show up, and the area is cordoned-off.
Continuing to their favorite bar (I think it was something like the Frothing Frost Squirrel), they sit and begin to drink heavily (gee, there's a new one). The meeting at the palace is in the afternoon, and it's still early, leaving much time to sober-up again, or get even more drunk (take a guess as to what they do).
A highly-decorated Hazat noble and his entourage walk in and have a seat at the bar. Marduk begins talking to them (because Pitt is a paranoid bastard, but he's OUR paranoid bastard), and finds out that the Hazat is none other than Don Marcika Poluzio Rolas, leader of the famed Hazat Dervishes. Marduk and him begin sharing war stories, particularly the victory at Kadeen on Stigmata - the young Vorox is particularly glad about that one because he thinks he's going to be honored at the palace today. Don Marcika says he'll be at the meeting, and hopes to see them there. At that point Kantarra walks in, and they grill her about sleeping with Gerald, which she SAYS she didn't do...
So afternoon rolls around, and they set-out towards the palace, nice and toasty (actually Pitt uses his Soma and Stoic Body and Mind to stay buzzed for a REALLY long time, while Marduk's uber-tolerance makes him only swerve a slight amount). They arrive, are let in, and proceed with the other multitudes of guests to a large arena-sized audience hall. The 5 houses have separated in to their cliques, each with a substantial amount of troops to show who's guns are bigger, while the League and Church factions are smaller, and stay mainly towards the back. The group hangs near the door so they can see everyone who comes in.
After a long wait, Stigmata Garrison Commander Lucinda Dulcinea appears and goes to the speaking podium in the center of the room. She gives a long speech about how the Symbiots hit Stigmata hard in their last assault, and how they are in great need of fresh troops and supplies now. She then makes way for Don Marcika to speak.
He begins by saying that his family (the Rolas) and the Dulcinea family (the Garrison Commander's family) have never been close - indeed there has been much infighting, but it is time to put all of that aside - there is much need for troops on Stigmata, and he pledges to take all of his Dervishes from Kurga to Stigmata, in hopes that this will set an example for other nobles to contribute troops.
In the middle of his speech, the group sees a single Vau ambassador walk in, look around, listen for a few minutes, and walk out. After Don Marcika's speech, random nobles from other houses begin to call-out that they will contribute troops to the Stigmata front, and the meeting is concluded. The group is somewhat let-down at the fact that they were not recognized for their actions at Kadeen, and also because they did not get to see the Emperor.
Gerald approaches Kantarra and takes her hand, proclaiming that he's going to Stigmata, and that every Symbiot he kills will be in her name (look for this parallel later...). Kantarra, somewhat shocked but not really let-down, wishes him luck, and Marduk gives him his prized Eruptor Blaster Pistol, saying Gerald can return it when he returns home. Of course they all know full-well that he'll probably never see it again.