A week passed after first contact with the Imperium during the hunter trials. Most of that week was taken up with the construction of a massive FOB on the 30 km plot of land that was given to the Imperial forces. But during the weekend, Richard decided to have a show of force in the capital of Vale, organizing a great parade, which is composed of the many different regiments of Imperial guard forces available to him, some Lamenters from their battle barge, the Adeptus sororitas he kept with him, and the ecclesiarchy priesthood that staffed the ship's reliquary and chapel. The parade started on what the feudals call a "Sunday'', and most citizens of Beacon were awestruck at the sheer number and diversity of the parade members.
Richard was on a float in the middle of the parade, sitting on a mechanical throne, smiling and waving to the crowd, while a vox caster proclaimed his glory and status to the people who lined the sides of the street. He was dressed in a navy blue long coat, lined with golden threads and filigree, wearing a grey sweater and a white collared shirt underneath, along with tan pants. He knew that first impressions were everything when it came to successfully integrating worlds, and he planned to make a speech at the entrance of the Hunter's Academy. But something caught his attention, when a little girl, maybe around 9 or 10, burst from the crowd, and headed straight for the Inquisitor's float. The parade stopped moving, and the 4 guards stationed around his float immediately braced for action, before Richard stood up and walked to the side of the float where the girl was standing. He immediately noticed the girl had the ears of a canine on the top of her head, but he decided to ignore that for now, as making a scene was a stupid idea.
"What's your name, child?"
The girl was clearly nervous, and struggled to speak with clarity.
"Uh, uh, m-my name's Lucy. I want you to have this." She held up a pretty white rose, clearly well taken care of, as it seemed to still be quite fresh. Richard lifted her up onto the float, knelt down in front of her, and graciously took the flower.
"Thank you, this is a wonderful flower. In fact, I'm going to wear it in my coat pocket right now." He carefully put the delicate flower in the front pocket of his coat, before helping the child off of the float and back to her parents.
Bordin leaned up the Lord Inquisitor. "Was that a wise decision my lord? Did you not see that she is a mutant?", whispered the sergeant to his Lord.
"We will worry about that later. First we must win the hearts and minds of this world's people, to do that we must show restraint and open-mindedness. Something like that is hard, but it will pay dividends when we are ready to take this world for the Imperium of Man."
"Of course my-" Bordin did not finish his sentence in time before several hooded individuals rushed to the float, and cut down a few of the soldiers nearby, screaming "Death to the humans!" and "For the White Fang!"
They clambered up onto the float and rushed the Inquisitor. One of them, a young looking female with a long thin tail had her entire upper half blown into a red paste. All the other members stopped to look in horror, as several armored giants in black seemed to appear out of nowhere, their visors a bright glowing red.
One of their huge gun barrels was smoking, a clear sign of who had fired such a deadly shot. They towered over the assailants, and Richard began to notice the smell of defecated pants. His grin grew wider and wider as he started to laugh maniacally.
"You thought you could kill me here and now? I know I just got here, but blessed Sabbat! You people don't like to wait now do you?
The biggest of the lot turned to look at him, and through the grey mask that covered his face, he could see the terrified eyes behind. "What… What the fuck are you?"
Richard's demeanor grew serious. "I am… a Lord Inquisitor. I control the fate of entire sections of this galaxy, and I erase filth like you, who endanger innocents and the loyal servants of the Emperor of Mankind. You have threatened the lives of the people who came to watch this parade, and if you had attacked sooner, that poor girl who gave me this nice flower would be stuck in the middle of this. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
The faunus terrorists stood silent, frozen, too afraid to move. Richard eyed them with a hard stare. They are so weak, but they have potential. These mutants, no not mutants. These abhumans seem to have special abilities. I'll have to look into it more. No doubt the Adeptus Mechanicus would be interested, among others. Very interesting… He was done thinking, now he spoke, gathering all the menace he could muster, he then gave his sentence:
"You are charged with terrorist actions, assault, murder, the interference with Imperial business, and the attempted murder of a Lord Inquisitor. You will be interrogated by Imperial forces, sterilized, and then given over to local courts to be judged and punished. Do not make me regret letting you live, or I will make sure that your life is shorter than what I have already decided." He motioned for the astartes to subjugate the criminals, and they obeyed by smacking each terrorist's head with their fists, just enough force to knock them out, and give them a nasty concussion.
By this point, the crowd had already run away from the fighting, and the Imperial forces had cuffed the assassins. Their bodies were forced to kneel before their target, who looked like a king on his throne, smiling with glee and menace. Local police arrived at the scene around 10 minutes later, due to their cars being stalled by the large crowds moving in the opposite direction of the parade. A pot-bellied man with a deep crimson coat and thick white mustache was with the police, and walked to the float, and coughed, gaining the attention of the Lord Inquisitor.
"I believe you are Richard?"
"Yes, I am. I'm sorry about the mess I've made. I have already had the criminals subdued and ready for transportation to one of your local detainment facilities." He motioned for his astartes to hand the limp bodies over to the police, with them being lugged like sacks of vegetable rations to the armored van the police managed to bring with them.
The white-haired man again coughed nervously, and started to speak: "My name is Professor Port. Ozpin mentioned you would be visiting our academy. I was to escort you, but it seems you had other plans. Would you follow me to Beacon Academy?
"Of course, lead the way, Professor."
The first thing Richard thought when he saw Beacon's tower was that the academy certainly wanted to show its importance. Professor Port caught his gaze, and replied; "You see, Beacon acts as the main CCT tower for Remnant, allowing for easy long-distance communication and plenty of other features that allow people to have easier lives. Though in my days we had to make do with letters and couriers!" Pots chuckled.
"How old are you then Professor Port?" asked Richard.
"Hmm, just about 60 I believe. I'm afraid I've been too busy to keep track."
"I'm actually around 350 years your senior, but I understand where you're coming from."
Port's eyes nearly jumped out of his skull. "You're… over 400 years old?"
Richard made a hearty laugh; "Yes, I look like I'm in my thirties don't I? The Imperium of Man has plenty of ways to help you stay physically young, although my method is a trade secret."
Port quickly regained his composure, and continued to walk towards the great tower in the distance. "Well, you're expected to introduce yourself to a few classes before you talk with Ozpin. Right now it's right before classes start at 0900 sharp, so expect to see plenty of students hurrying to their classes. Oh, well there's one coming straight for us!"
Richard turned to see a long-haired blond girl rushing straight towards him. He reached for his power sword's handle, ready to draw in case it's another one of those assassins.
Her face was contorted in rage, her hair flaming and eyes deep red. "YOU HIT MY SISTER YOU DAMN ASSHOLE!" She then lunged at him, arm thrusting in a sucker punch, to which he sidestepped, and the girl sadly couldn't stop her momentum before tumbling on the path in a comical fashion, landing in a jumbled pile.
Richard turned to Port. "Is this normal? Or am I being tested?" Before Port could answer, Richard heard a familiar voice yelling in the distance.
"Yang! I told you not to go and do that!" Richard swiveled his head around to see the young girl in black and red again.
"You know her, Ruby?" He then suddenly felt a sharp impact at the back of his head, nearly knocking him unconscious and sending him face-first into the ground. He felt his nose dislocate on impact with the ground, and slowly got up from the slight dent in the concrete path after a few seconds, before grabbing his bent nose and snapping it back into place.
"Ow." He then barely dodged another haymaker before hopping back and drawing his power sword, facing the angry bruiser with a scowl.
Port took the role of the negotiator: "Come now let's not start a fight on school grounds! You can fight in combat class with Professor Glynda!" Ruby joined in as well: "Yang, stop fighting! I already told you to let it slide!"
"No way I'm going to let him get away with hurting my sister! I should have clocked him at the trial!" replied Yang.
"You want to fight? Then get ready to die, because I'm not gonna spare you. Better to stop now and get to class, after that I'll…" Richard scrunched up his face, clearly having trouble saying the words. "I'll apologize."
Yang clearly still was angry, but she seemed to calm down a bit. "Fine. But I hear anything else and-"
"And you will be a corpse at my feet. You may have a unique ability, but that does not mean I am not more skilled and experienced than you are. I have over 400 years of learning, fighting, and surviving. Now let us get to your class." Richard sheathed his sword, then started to walk towards the tower in front of them, and the rest swiftly followed.
Richard entered a clean-looking auditorium, with lacquered wooden desks in the shape of long crescents, reminding him of when he taught for a while at a Schola Progenium to promising acolytes.
He was taken from his reminiscing by a harsh female voice: "I assume you are the Inquisitor that Ozpin was talking about?"
Richard turned to meet a blond lady, with spectacles and a riding crop, looking for all intents and purposes like a character in an Imperium sanctioned adult film, with a white cotton shirt and a black skirt with leggings. "Yes, I am. And you are?"
"Glynda Goodwitch. I am in charge of combat class, and you're late by 2 minutes." She held the riding crop in a menacing manner, almost like she intended to use it on anyone who caused trouble.
Richard barely could keep a straight face, but managed to come out with an answer. "Well, I was interrupted by a bit of business, but I am here now aren't I?"
"Yes, I suppose you are. Tell me, how much experience do you have in combat?"
"Well, I have been training and fighting for quite a while, maybe for about 400 years now? I haven't kept track of my age for a very long time, but I do know how many centuries I've been alive for at least," he chuckled.
Glynda had a face of shock. "Four hundred years?! You barely look over thirty!"
Richard gave a hearty laugh, and smiled. "Well our technology is extremely advanced, but I don't blame you for being surprised."
Richard had forgotten about the 30 or so students who were already in the classroom, who now talked amongst each other with fervor, before Glynda silenced them with a wave.
"Well, even then, would you be willing to spar against some of our students?"
"Of course, I am capable of doing so. I am happy to spar with some students."
"Alright, then please step into the arena we have in the classroom."
Richard stepped into the fine gravel-filled circle, resting the palm of his hand on his sword's pommel. A screen activated, and two bars appeared, one of them filling up to full in a shade of bright green, while the other stayed empty.
Glynda looked at the screen in confusion, and turned to the Inquisitor. "Would you activate your aura, please?"
Richard looked back in confusion. "What's an Aura?" The entire class then made a mix of sighs, gasps, and chuckles.
"You're saying you don't have an aura?"
"No, why would I? I can just fight until first blood anyways, so no worries," Richard replied with a casual look of indifference.
"Alright then, I can teach you about the basics of aura and semblances later. Does anyone want to fight the Inquisitor?" Around 6 hands shot up, with one being a young and beautiful bright red-haired lady. "Pyrrha, how about you for this time." Pyrrha then walked down, and stood opposite of Richard. Both drew their weapons, with Richard's sword being more like a falchion in design, with an embellished pommel in the shape of a brass twin-headed eagle, and a leather grip, with a trigger for the activation of the power field. Pyrrha's weapon was no less beautiful, a spear and shield in matching colors of bronze and red metal, with intricate carvings and mechanisms. Richard pressed the trigger, a blue sparking field of power enveloping the weapon, and he twirled it a few times before settling into a stance, his mechanical arm holding the sword like he was going to throw it, although his feet were in a wide stance, his knees bent as if he was ready to strike in an instant. Pyrrha adopted a much different stance, her shield in front of her, her spear pointed out front, almost like a phalanx soldier of ancient Terra. Both waited for Glynda to begin the fight, looking to the rest of class like eagles of war.
"And, begin!" shouted Glynda.
Pyrrha immediately charged forward, trying to force Richard into a corner using her shield's superior defensive capability. Richard quickly changed his stance, and waited until she got close enough, and sent his artificial limb flying forwards in a sucker punch, creating a shockwave on Pyrrha's shield that sent her defensive form into shambles, before using his left arm to attempt to grab her by her throat. She sidestepped backward, before launching her shield at him like a frisbee. Richard used his right arm to grab the shield, spinning around to follow its momentum, before launching it back at her in one swift motion, as though they were playing a game of frisbee in the park and he was going for style points. Pyrrha caught her shield flawlessly, before going into a much more defensive style, attempting to ward off whatever attack Richard would commit to next. Richard responded by running up to her and dropping low, sweeping his leg against her feet, trying to off her balance and present an opening. Pyrrha felt her leg give way and she was forced to drop to her knee, before thrusting up with her javelin at Richard's torso. Richard dodged out of the range of the spearhead, and moved to the side, slicing down with his power sword and sending Pyrrha's aura into the red, finishing the fight.
"Stop! The victor is Inquisitor Richard. You may take a seat and rest, Pyrrha Nikos." Richard obeyed, sheathing his sword and offering his hand to the red-haired huntress.
"You fought well for someone so young. I would say that if you had studied in a Schola Progenium, I'd have recruited you in a heartbeat. You have talent and skill, but always expect that your opponent is just as strong as you are. Underestimation is a fatal mistake."
Pyrrha blushed, clearly unused to praise; "Thank you, I will take those words into account. You fought brilliantly as well." She took his hand and stood up, then walked slowly back to her seat, exhausted from the fight.
Glynda looked at Richard with an expression of interest. Clearly, he's a great fighter, but I have to wonder what made him say that to Miss Nikos. I will have to invest time in learning more about him and the 'Imperium' he fights for.
"Miss Goodwitch?"
"Oh. Well, it appears that class is over. I will take you to your next one, Mr. Richard." The students began to pack their things and head out the door, with Richard and Glynda being the only ones left in the room. Richard was readjusting the straps attaching his holstered archeotech revolver to his hips, before moving onto the concealed body armor he had under his sweater. Glynda took the time to unconsciously stare at the Inquisitor's fine physique before righting herself.
"Well, now you're headed to Professor Oobleck's class. I must warn you, be ready to answer every insane and inane question he has ready for you."
"Oh? Is he some sort of knowledge freak? Emperor, if he's one of them then I know how it is."
"Good, then you might be able to handle him."
Richard frowned. "That does not reassure me in the slightest, but let us head over there now." He followed Glynda out the door and into the halls.
"What is the Imperium exactly? How does it function? How much territory does it encompass? How does it govern itself? What-"
Richard raised his hand up, pausing the caffeine-addicted teacher for a moment. "Let me answer a few of those questions before we go further, Professor Oobleck."
The class was still half asleep even with this newcomer.
"Of course. I have gotten a bit ahead of myself.", replied the spiky green-haired, wiry, and tweaked-out spectacled Professor.
"May I use your script board for a moment?"
"Of course, a written explanation would be helpful"
Richard nodded, then walked over to the chalkboard, picking up a white piece of chalk and drawing four symbols, one a twin-headed eagle with a gothic "I" upon its breast, one a cog with a skull in the center, the third another gothic "I", but this time with a skull in the center, and finally one more gothic "I", but with the middle cut out and replaced with a skull surrounded by a spiked halo. "These are the four major Imperial powers, each one governing millions of worlds. They each have their own purpose and history, but I will be outlining the basics so that you can understand which is which and hopefully not offend any of their members."
Oobleck was staring intently at the board, having apparently taken a notebook and a pen while Richard wasn't looking, with the rest of the class having done so, somehow waking up the moment Richard had mentioned how many worlds these powers had control over.
Richard looked at the silent and attentive class with surprise. "I didn't know you would be so attentive. Reminds me of my time teaching my daughter." He smiled and pointed at the eagle. "This is the Senatorum Imperialis, better known as the High Lords of Terra. Terra is the birthplace of humanity, and it serves as the capital of the Imperium, and as the location of the God Emperor of mankind, who sits upon the golden throne, comatose for 10,000 years. In his absence after his wounding by the archtraitor, the High Lords began to govern the Imperium for him. They are composed of the most politically powerful people of the Imperium, and they create new laws and review the state of the Imperium every day. Currently, there are… about 12 members. You do not currently need to know who and what they are, but know that they control the lives of trillions. Any questions?"
Many hands went up. One that caught his attention was a black-haired lady with a bowtie. He pointed to her. "Yes?"
"What about the Faunus? Or other types of life? Is the Imperium only composed of humans?"
"Is that what you call the native abhuman species here? Faunus? If so, then yes, there are some sanctioned abhuman species in the Imperium. One of the most common species you'll see out there are Orgyns."
The lady was not taking the information well. In fact, she looked even more concerned. "Sanctioned Species? Abhumans? Is that what you call any race that isn't yours?"
Richard turned around slowly, a blank stare on his face. "What?"
"Uh, did you not hear me the first time? I said-" She immediately stopped as Richard held up a finger to her lips.
"First of all, they are abhumans because of the fact that they were humans that evolved to specialize for certain environments and certain functions. Second, every non-human race humanity has encountered has so far expressed their desire to kill, enslave, and decieve us for their own gains. I can understand your apprehension and passion on these subjects, but take care to consider both sides of the argument before you make a decision." He then took his finger away from the young woman's face.
"Interesting. So there is another sentient life out there? And they're all hostile to us?", asked Oobleck.
"Yes. I have personally encountered each one, and so far all have tried to kill me and the people I was trying to save and protect."
"Maybe you could tell us about them sometime. Oh, we have a few minutes left. You'll have to be quick about it."
Richard nodded. "Alright. The cog is the Adeptus Mechanicus, they are a religious organization that acts as the main industrial and technological powerhouse of the Imperium. They are responsible for the creation of most of our technology. They worship technology and replace their flesh with machinery, as they consider that to be holy. The haloed 'I' is the Imperial cult, who act as the Imperium's main religion for most people. We worship the Emperor as a god, since he ascended once placed on the golden throne. While I'd like to issue a complaint, there is some actual evidence to back up the Ecclesiarchy. The final symbol is the organization I am in. The Inquisition."
Richard paused for a few seconds before continuing. "The Inquisition stands above even the High Lords, as it's mission is to ensure the safety of the Imperium's people and resources, and the only authority it answers to is itself and the Emperor. They contain the greatest agents and investigators the galaxy has seen, and it works tirelessly to quietly and quickly erase major threats that appear within and outside of the Imperium's jurisdiction. I am currently one of the Inquisition's leaders. There are normal Inquisitors who enjoy almost no restrictions on what they can do and how they do it, as long as they save planets and protect the Imperium. But then there are Lord Inquisitors, who form the conclave, acting as the judges and authority for the Inquisition, able to punish and strip inquisitors of their titles if necessary. We essentially control the galaxy, punishing the many enemies the Imperium face, saving the innocent, and getting our hands dirty so that the Imperium may live another day. To say that it seems like an easy job is a very wrong thing to say. It involves all the horrible, painful, and disgusting things in the galaxy, and there is no end to the suffering you will experience unless you die. I myself have been an inquisitor for over 400 years, and let me tell you, being an inquisitor forces you to make the hardest decisions." Before he could continue, the bell rang.
"Well, I suppose this was an informative class, if a little useful for future meetings. Thank you very much, Lord Inquisitor Richard."
"Just call me Richard. I'm just visiting here, happy to at least teach people important things." He turned to the students in front of him: "Listen. There will come a day that all of you will have to trust and depend on each other. For now, try to improve yourselves and your teammates, expand your understanding, push yourselves, because when you graduate, you'll have to live up to the responsibility of protecting people who can't protect themselves effectively. Just as I have to. Have a good afternoon." The students began to pack up and then file out of the classroom, leaving Richard and Oobleck alone.
"So, you'll have to talk more about the Imperium with me later, and you gave a good message at the end. Hopefully, the students take it to heart." Oobleck said while adjusting his spectacles.
"I'm afraid I can't talk much more about the Imperium, but I do have some texts in low gothic for you to read if you want to learn some more. The high-level texts I currently have are in high gothic."
"High gothic? You have two official languages?"
"Yes, what we're speaking now is low gothic, but high gothic is the language imperial officials and higher-ranking members of official organizations use."
"Really… We call it English, but other than the official ones, how many local languages are there?"
"That's an impossible question to answer accurately. The Imperium has millions of diverse and unique worlds, each with its own ecosystems and cultures. You could say there are millions of local languages in the Imperium, but I have no clue whether it's thousands, millions, billions, or just a few."
"What languages do you know?"
"High gothic, low gothic, both major forms of Eldar, Tau, some Orkish, and even some Necron glyphs."
"Are those non-human languages?"
"Yes. I have to learn these languages to better deal with their practitioners."
"I see, but what-"
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?" Richard turned around to find the dark-haired girl again, standing behind him.
"Forgive me, I must have gotten carried away with answering your professor's questions"
"No, that's fine. I wanted to ask what your stance is on Faunus oppression is?"
Richard readied himself for a difficult conversation.