The sharp clicks of Khalaina's fiery red boots upon the marble hallways of the Palace of Heria echoed ahead of her, warning all in the office of the Planetary Governor that she was approaching. Two stony-faced palace guardsmen stood astride the massive blast doors that blocked access to the office, their poses unmoving and their faces seemingly unaware of the Interrogator's approach until she came within a certain distance. The guardsmen swiftly levelled their lasguns at the scarlet-clad intruder; her badge of office meant nothing to those trained in the art of defending such vital positions.
Without faltering, she slid a gloved hand into a pocket and plucked a dataslate from it, throwing it towards the guardsmen before her. One of them, with burnished gold epaulettes, dropped his lasgun to his side and plucked the slate from the air. Coming to life in his hand, his eyes flicked from left to right as he scanned the slate,
"Stand down." He ordered his comrades, and as on they returned their lasguns to their previous neutral positions. He followed Khalaina closely as she approached, his eyes looking for a reason to kill her where she stood, but finding none. If he regretted this, he did not show it as Khalaina passed, the slate returning smoothly to her grip as she reached the thick adamantium blast doors.
With a sharp spin, the golden-shouldered guardsman quickly punched in various things on the door controls, "Governor Andrius will see you now."
Khalaina gave the guardsman a slight nod as the doors pulled apart from their impenetrable embrace, revealing the lavish space beyond. It was decorated in layers of red silk and velvet, trimmed with gold. In some parts, the room itself looked ablaze. Behind a dark mahogany table sat a plump man in a uniform that barely accommodated his size. It was apparent that his rank excluded him from further military service, and yet the myriad medals that adorned his chest spoke otherwise.
Officials fidgeted nervously beside him, save a stoic commissar, whom simply stared her in the eye with an hypnotic gaze that Khalaina could not quite decipher. A trembling assistant darted over to Khalaina as she entered with the doors closing behind; her steps muffled by the overly thick layer of carpet beneath her feet. The assistant bowed perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, likely out of fear, but Khalaina ignored him and kept her pace, her gaze fixed upon the Governor who shifted slightly in his leather seat, but looked otherwise unfazed.
Khalaina reached the desk and planted herself before it, staring down upon the Governor,
"You are Governor Andrius?" She asked.
"Correct." Andrius swiftly replied.
"And you know who I am?"
"I do."
"And why I am here?"
"I do."
Khalaina mulled over the brief but sharp clash. His tongue was quick, but she doubted it was through intelligence; backwater worlds were infamous for their inbred rulers of ever diminishing intellect. It was more, she concluded, do with practice. Even an idiot could be taught science if he had enough time to practice. She had to remove him from his comfort zone.
"Nice office." She remarked. As she anticipated, Andrius faltered; used to mind-numbing formality, he had no idea how to respond to idle talk, especially when coming from an Interrogator.
"Erm, yes, I guess it is." He nervously replied. One of his aides leapt to his side and bent low to his ear, "I am glad that you approve of our establishments." The aide withdrew quickly, stealing a quick smirk.
"I said that the office was nice, not that I approve of it." Khalaina replied, "I think it a grievous waste of Imperial funds, surely you have a reason for this luxury?"
"I… uhh…" Andrius stuttered, forcing another aide to come to his rescue, "I don't believe the Inquisition control how Planetary Governors may spend funds allocated to them," He paused momentarily in faked thought as the aide withdrew, "But if you must know then we must make good impressions; the Imperium cannot afford to appear uncultured."
"Quite." Khalaina replied. She watched Andrius breathe a sigh of relief, "But then you surely realise that culture does not necessarily equate to lavish furnishings, and that such frivolity can be a sign of temptation by the forces that wish to topple the Imperium. I trust that I can count on your assurances that no such whispers have reached your mind?" She fondled the grip of her inferno pistol, watching as all eyes turned to it and grew wider.
An aide swooped in to save the faltering governor, but Khalaina had anticipated it, and gripped the pistol firmly, freezing him in place as his face blanched. Andrius realised he was on his own, and vigorously nodded.
"Good." Khalaina said, removing her hand from the pistol, "I will begin the inspection of your facilities immediately. By order of the Inquisition, your defence force, your personal guards, your aides, and yourself, shall now answer to me or Inquisitor Naharva, should he make an appearance at a later date during my stay.
"I shall begin with an inspection of the defence force. I trust that they will be alerted and ready for my immediate arrival." She flashed the Governor an emotionless smile, "Good day." As she turned, her gaze fell upon the Commissar once more. He was involved in deep conversation with the governor, who seemed entranced and hung on his every word. Once more, she dismissed the actions as simply made out of fear, but nothing could quell the suspicions that lurked in her mind.
She passed back through the titanic adamantium doors and they slid shut behind her. The four guardsmen still stood like unmoving sentinels; the blast door was solid enough, and the governor's office was no doubt linked to numerous escape routes,
"By order of the Holy Inquisition, you service have been surrendered to me." She stated, drawing the synchronised gazes of the guards, "You will accompany me to the nearest guard station at once."
The golden-shouldered guardsman from before gave a sharp salute, "At once my lady." He motioned to the other three, and they took up rear positions as he took his place beside Khalaina, "I apologise for the meagre guard that you have, my lady, shall I order a squad of our Veterans to meet us at the palace gates? They are the finest warriors in this sector."
"I trust that your company will be sufficient." Khalaina replied, "Should this no longer be the case, I will make it known."
"As you wish, my lady." He saluted once more, and led Khalaina down through the corridors.