+++5.563.986.M41+++
+++The Hole, Subsector Ossibus, Sector Askellon, Segmentus Obscurus+++
+++Khurry Spaceport - Enforcer HQ+++
The meeting with the major had gone smoothly, as Kirilenko had lived up to the Vostroyan standards of efficiency and bluntness. Kronus-5 had assisted in the making of the plan and with their help it was easy enough to get Vishna back inside the compound. She and Lars had found a place to stay with the engineseers on the basement level and although Vishna had complained continuously about the lack of comfort - the Mechanicus staff adhered to a more sobre line of the Omnissiah's followers - but the cells were at least sufficiently isolated from the machine hall down the hall so they could get some rest.
While they had been resting, major Kirilenko had been busy setting up some details that were free of compromised men. And then their plan had been set in motion. Lars listened in on the conversation between Kronus and colonel Brahma'Ustan.
"Yes colonel. I understand that we're out of daylight for quite some time, but that doesn't change the situation. We've found a wounded man in section 53 of basement level 3 who hasn't been able to properly identify himself. His story is... confusing... At best... so I would like you to inspect the subject yourself." Lars could see that Kronus-5 wasn't completely at ease with this conversation. Whether it was because he had to lie, or that he just didn't like communicating with normal people was anyone's guess. "And why did you come to me for this? There is an officer of the watch for this kind of becek, Adept." The other man didn't seem at all pleased with being disturbed during nighttime. "Obviously, colonel," the adept replied rather deadpan, "But the intruder tried to bring his presence in compliance with mention of the Adeptus Arbites. I gathered this might be a situation you would like to handle... personally."
It remained quiet at the other end of the line for a few moments. Then Brahma'Ustan scraped his throat and commended Kronus for his judgement. Praise the techpriest dismissed as irrelevant only to repeat his request that the colonel would come down to take care of the situation.
"So regulator Akira. We meet again..." It had only took the corrupt colonel ten minutes to arrive at the basement level, which meant he had rushed himself, but when he stood before Lars, he produced the same dreary and monotone voice, just like the first time they had met. Lars looked up at the man from the ground. His left pant leg was soaked with synaptic fluids from a servitor which looked exactly like human blood. An empty holster and some improvised bindings, a chain from one of the heating installations, made the picture complete. All there was to see was a beaten man, relieved of his weapons and left to the mercy of his captors. Kronus-5 stepped back to give the colonel some privacy.
"It seems your endeavours here, have been... let us say... not very succesful." Brahma'Ustan continued, his face still blank. "Colonel? Perhaps you can enlighten me? What the frak is going on?" Lars played along. "Really Regulator? You believe you can trick me like that?" Now, Lars could see the beginning of a smug smile on the officer's face. Lars for his part, kept up the charade. "Trick you, but... Why?" "Let us dispense with the pleasantries, Regulator. I can't say I expected you to uncover so much, but let us be honest. It was hardly because of your efforts. If that poor Shaneshabad hadn't been so greedy, you would have missed all of us, wouldn't you? That stupid bodho." Lars faked a look of slow understanding. He underlined it with what must be in the colonel's eyes, a rather belated hypothesis. "So, it was you who sent Akhil and his men after us." The colonel shook his head. "Not you, just Shaneshabad. After he met with captain Prabhudestan, his plans became clear. Unfortunately Akhil was an incompetent fool. Perhaps the reason for his lack of progress through the command structure. If you see a man that has been a sergeant for more than 20 years, one knows enough, right Regulator?" Lars thought he could hear another jab in that. His age would suggest that he'd been in the Arbites for quite some time. Apparently the colonel hadn't read or hadn't had access to his file, since Lars' had actually very little experience to warrant his current rank of regulator. "Yeah. I guess so." he replied, a bit sheepishly.
Brahma'Ustan remained silent for a moment. Lars could see that he was thinking about something, a problem he couldn't quite solve. "Got a problem?" he ventured. "As a matter of fact, yes, Regulator. I'm trying to come up with some kind of... solution for my latest problem. There aren't exactly regulations for this situation." the colonel answered, painfully slow again. "Meaning?" "How to get rid of a troublesome arbite. The mercenary woman won't pose much of a problem. Even is she would manage to get off world, there's hardly something a woman in her position could do, right? A lack of proper function or good reputation can be quite something to overcome. And Shaneshabad... well, I don't know if you care to tell me his whereabouts, but even if you don't, he won't be breathing for long no more. Disloyalty to the Cartel is giving yourself the death penalty, whether he stays here or moves on. But you, arbite. You pose a different problem entirely. I'm quite sure there aren't that many of you around. You're the first one of your department that set foot on our little mudball for the last thirty years. That is, if our Administratum records are to be trusted." The officer laughed, finding his own joke funny somehow, but he turned serious quickly enough. "However, the problem with your type is that if one goes missing, another one shows up, doesn't it? You're like reged mudwasps."
Lars tried to look concerned now and started to plead. "If you're worried about us, Colonel, I might be able to propose you a deal. We can always use a smart guy that has an in with the Cartel. We might not be paying what they are, but at least it'll solve this problem. And if things go wrong, we've got excellent witness protection..." The look on Brahma'Ustan's face became ice cold. "Spare me, Regulator. This is the Kerviel Cartel we're talking about. Your protection programs are as useful as a whore with mudfever... No. I'm not taking any chances. The swamps have swallowed many problematic... individuals before. It won't object to another corpse, I'm sure." "But..." Lars started to protest, but the colonel raised his hands in denial. "I'm afraid our ways separate at this point, Regulator. We won't be seeing each other no more. The task of dumping you will fall to someone else. Procedure before everything, no?" The smugness had returned on his face. Apparently the man had convinced himself that any other Arbites coming to investigate Lars' disappearance would have to be dealt with in their good time. "Sure, Colonel. I'm glad you agree."
Brahma'Ustan had already been turning away from the figure on the floor but stopped his movement, surprised as he was by that last comment. "Colonel Brahma'Ustan," Lars continued, "I find you guilty of treason. You are sentenced to death. But first you will be handled by our chastener division. You will forgive me for not quoting the proper article of Holy Imperial Law. I seem to have misplaced my codex."
For the first time during the meeting, Lars could see some kind of doubt in the colonel's eyes. He was utterly surprised and not by Lars' disrespect for regulations. Lars could see how the surprise turned into despair, when the colonel saw the three lasguns at his back, one of which was the improvised contraption Vishna used.
"I'm afraid the Regulator iz correct, kolonel. Pleaze hand over your zidearm." The presence of major Kirilenko seemed to be the finishing blow. Brahma'Ustan's arms went limp and even though he had meant to give some kind of order, now the only thing that came out of his mouth was a strange blowing sound, something like a fish trying to breath on dry land.
Lars disposed of the improvised manacles and fetched a real pair from behind his back handing them to Vishna. "And don't worry about Shaneshabad either. We'll sort him out." Vishna said with a vicious smile on her face, but it appeared that the man had become the least of Brahma'Ustan's troubles.
+++6.601.986.M41+++
+++In transit, Sector Askellon, Segmentus Obscurus+++
+++The Unwanting Revenge - Interview rooms+++
"So, the intel we got from Radashendra was tainted?" The familiar voice asked. "Well, sorta. The intel was good, as we knew it was since the raids it led to were a success. We just didn't know that by taking out those targets, we were also creating opportunities for the Cartel." The man next to Lars sighed. "... It's hard to come by good intel. And it's even harder to foresee everything our actions provoke or cause. But that's the nature of the game Lars. You shouldn't be bothered by that."
Lars remained silent. Both he and Frank were looking from behind a mirror to the conversation that was taking place between the judge and Vishna. Lars had offered her a chance to get a position with the Arbites. He'd thought that Arthur would be charmed by the woman's direct attitude and her capacity to think for herself. She'd gone through some physical tests and now Belloran was conducting the interview. Or what should pass for an interview because it seemed the judge was doing all the talking, as usual.
"Did the chasteners make any headway with the interrogations?" the regulator asked. "Yes. Especially with that Shaneshabad character. Perhaps colonel Brahma'Ustan was the hightest ranking informant of the Cartel, but apart from a drop location for his information, he didn't have all that much contact with the Kerviel agents. Shaneshabad on the other hand seems to be as slithery as a coggie in an oil bath. Although he only took over from Radashendra for a few months, he managed to wurm himself quite deeply in the Highfield Cartel's business. I'd like to think that he knows more than they wanted him to know. The Chief Chastener tells me that there's still a lot of unexplored territory." Lars grunted approvingly. "So that might get us another in on the Cartel?" But the other man shrugged, not convinced. "It might. But the Cartels are only one of the things that are on our plate."
Lars saw Frank flinch when the pile of orderly stacked documents he had prepared for the interview were scattered by a flamboyant swing of Belloran's arm, covering the entire room in swirling papers. Lars smiled. "He hasn't changed a bit, has he?" When Horrigan didn't reply, Lars looked sideways. He could see a troubled look on the man's face. And some reluctance to get into it, if Lars could read the man properly.
"What is it, Frank?" Lars probed. "I'm not supposed to discuss this with you Lars." Frank said, without looking at the regulator. "Let's just say that the number of cases is growing and that our means to handle them are swindling. Arthur isn't too happy about it, but there is only so much he can do. As far as we can tell, the enitre sector might be endangered. Communications with the Imperium have been..." Frank paused for a second and then started over. "The judge..." Lars didn't look at Frank, giving him the time to compose his thoughts, but when Horrigan spoke up again, Lars could hear in his voice that he was being fobbed off. "It's just that he's been in a rotten mood these last few weeks. I'm glad you brought him someone new that might assist us. On paper she didn't really look like much, but I've got to tell you that she has surprised me already and that she might continue to do so in the future."
It was quite Obvious that Frank had steered the conversation away from whatever was troubling the judge and Lars knew that it was no use to try to probe Horrigan again. The fact that he slipped this much already was a sign that whatever they were dealing with, was big. Frank wouldn't repeat his mistake.
"Get some R&R, Lars. It won't be long before you're back in the field."
+++5.632.986.M41+++
+++Juno, Sector Askellon, Segmentus Obscurus+++
+++Hive Romanov - Anastasia Noble Estate+++
The room they found themselves in was dark, the only illumination coming from a set of dimmed glowglobes set in intricate golden armatures against the walls. The air was warm and perfumed and around the large black obsidian table six figures had taken place. Small, chromed viewscreens were placed in carefully cut out indentations, so that they each could follow the briefing they were receiving. There were no servants in the room and the men and women had each served themselves with a glass of the finest amasec, wine or procello. When the briefing was over, the masked figures looked at one another, waiting for the first one to speak up.
"A minor setback at The Hole it appears." a deep rumbling voice said. "And not one we can't recover from instantly." added a high pitched feminin voice. Both voices remained silent as no confirmation came from the others. After half a minute, a third person spoke up, with a calm and steady voice. One could hear that he had spend numerous years preaching. "Perhaps a minor setback in results, but one we need to rectify immediately. But more importantly, another blow to our operations from the same hand as before. You will all remember that at Phlegethon it was the same man who caused a valuable contract to go to waste." "It is time that we take care of this nuisance." Another man added, his voice deformed through a vox box.
Things remained silent for a while. "It is decided then. The arbite must meet his end. Et statuit Conexus Kerviel" the fifth figure said. The six figures rose and each took off in another direction, heading for one of the many doors that gave access to the room. When all but one remained, another figure came loose from the shadows.
"Magister Graz, make sure this decision is seen to. Your men will get limited access to our house armoury. Regulator Akira appears to be someone that carries the luck of the Emperor with him. A little help will do you good." The man standing besides the man at the table, bowed like a switchknife, expressing his utmost respect for the other. "Thank you for your offer, magister Salomon. We will put it to good use. Soon, this little thorn in our side will sting no more."