Arbites Command
When they returned Lord Ulrich did not bother to ask what the raid had turned up. Kryn wonder if Tarik had informed him using some sort of Inquisitorial code or if he had picked it out of the thoughts of the returning squad. Then again Kryn reflected Ulrich may just have observed the body language as two of the Arbites dragged the surviving prisoners to the Chasteners with a lack of enthusiasm that suggested they already knew it was going to be a waste of time and resources. Ulrich simply gestured for Tarik and Kryn to follow and headed back to the bastion.
"Sal found something."
The savant was for once not seated at a console but was tucking into a plate of roast grox and sautéed vegetables with an enthusiasm that seemed completely at odds with her prim appearance.
"Sorry, tend not to eat while investigating..." she shoved in another mouthful and talked with the food shoved into one cheek. "Just remembered how hungry I was." She chewed furiously for a second then swallowed. "So found close to 500 missing people who fitted Tarik's profile. Then looked for similarities – at least similarities that were not directly linked to their lifestyles and backgrounds. Beyond being loners and abandoned young as requested there were no obvious links to occupations, locations or anything that might have made them a specific target. So I broadened the search to look for anything that marked them out." she took a another mouthful and looked pleadingly at Ulrich. He simply stared back and waited. She scowled, swallowed again and continued.
"So I went back to the beginning starting with the first data I could find for the first of the subjects and found that he was the result of artificial insemination. As were the second and third. In fact all but 19 of them."
"How high a rate is that?" Tarik asked.
"Typically 3-5% is normal, particular atmospheric pollutants can dramatically increase that rate, but none are in unusual concentration here. Malnutrition can have an effect but again that is not a system wide issue. The rate here is close to 8% for no apparent reason, but even that is a long way off the 96.1% in the study sample. Oh and all but one of those all were processed by Tawaret Biofam."
"That isn't entirely surprising." Kryn put in. "Tawaret is by far the most successful of the local firms. They have an almost 100% pregnancy rate on first implantation and are about half the price of their competitors. People only go to the others if they can't get on the waiting list and they travel here from across the system for it." Seeing the speculative look Ulrich was giving her she added. "People will bribe, blackmail and even kill to get on that list. The Arbites have been brought in more than once so I can well believe that they would be overrepresented."
Sal had sneaked in another couple of mouthfuls, but then correcting a statistical misunderstanding became more important than satisfying her appetite.
"That it would be high yes. But they are responsible for around 60% of live births following IVF treatment, this is not a statistical artefact."
"What can you tell us about Tawaret?" Tarik asked. Sal made a please continue gesture to Kryn while looking hungrily at the remains of her plate.
"Like I say there is murderous competition to get on their waiting list. Sometimes literally." Kryn began. "They could charge three times what they do and still not be able to fit in everyone. They are well known for offering an initial scan, then never seeming to need more than the first medical visit to ensure pregnancy. I guess that keeps their costs way below most of the other firms. There is a small high priced fast track service for VIPs, then the basic waiting list. The weirdest thing is that despite the massive demand they allocate half their places on a lottery basis and the winners of the lottery get their treatment free."
"Is the lottery rigged."
"Not obviously. If you were going to try to bribe someone to fix it you may as well buy your way onto the fast track, and many of the winners would have struggled to have afforded even the discount regular price. We've investigated a few times. The company itself seems clean, just a few overzealous customers."
"From a criminal point of view no doubt it is." Sal put in hastily swallowing her latest mouthful. "There was one peculiarity though. The man in charge is a Dr. D. Grey."
"No criminal record nothing on the Arbite's database to indicate cult connections."
"A report from one of your predecessors also lists Dr. D. Grey as being in charge. That was in M41. Someone of that name has been listed as in charge since the founding of the company."
"When was that?"
"Officially M37. There are limited records of very similar companies before that which may have been effectively the same group with occasional changes of name. "
"Some sort of hereditary title?" Tarik suggested.
"Maybe." Ulrich stood. "But we should check it out."
Tarik and Kryn exchanged glances looking at the full combat gear each was wearing.
"Well might be a little over the top for a maternity clinic, but what the heck."
"Clinic" was a bit of an understatement. There were over 50 centres where appointments took place and pre interviews and administrative tasks took place across Tetran I. But the actual treatment was only administered at this one location in Prime. There were over 100 floors of one of the main hive stacks devoted entirely to it. Over 20,000 hopeful women a day and a significant number of men were shown to one of the many testing or treatment rooms that worked 24 hours a day 7 days a week all year round.
"8% looks like quite a lot in a system of billions." Ulrich remarked as they walked past huge queues in a cavernous reception floor. The sight of a fully armed Arbites Marshal had guards scurrying to fetch someone more senior to pass the trouble onto and by the time they had walked halfway towards the distant reception desks a worried looking functionary was hastening towards them.
"Esteemed Marshal and..." the women paused for a moment trying to work out the relative importance of the Inquisitorial party. Ulrich had dressed plainly in a black cloak, his staff made him stand out but more as an eccentric than as somebody to be feared. Tarik looked like a stereotypical bodyguard, but his armour still held dents and fresh battle damage from the last week's engagements that made him look dishevelled to a civilian or dangerous to anyone with a military background. Still the two stormtroopers in full battle carapace buffed to a ceremonial shine and holding their hellguns at ready commanded a certain respect. She rallied quickly "...honoured guests. I am Arine Bulquin, day manager of Tarawat Biogen how can I be of assistance."
"Take us to Dr. Grey." Kryn demanded, the flat tones of her in helmet speaker adding menace to the request.
"Well as day manager I am in charge of all operations and I am sure I can help..." The woman seemed about to continue but as Kryn's hand brushed against one of her bolt pistols she swallowed and appeared to change her mind. "... er that is, if you come this way I will take you straight to him."
She led them away from the crowds in the entrance lobby down a carpeted hallway to a private lift. She touched the ubiquitous gene scanner and the doors soundlessly opened on a lift that could have transported a medium sized groundcar. The carpet stretched up the walls and subdued lighting gave it an unexpected elegance. There were no buttons, and it was obviously mono-tasked to take the most important visitors to a single floor.
Tarik shot a glance at Ulrich who's eyes flickered before he nodded and they entered stormtroopers loosening their weapons in case of an unfriendly greeting when they reached their destination. The manager was looking more and more ill at ease but attempted to smile brightly.
"So this is the special elevator for our more esteemed clients that Dr. Grey or his top specialists see personally."
"Special treatment?" Kryn asked.
Arine appeared torn between loyalty and honesty. "No. The same equipment is used for all clients, but the personal touch can be... politic."
Kryn grunted making it quite clear that in her opinion politic was half a step from criminal behaviour.
The lift drew to a halt and despite the abrupt tension of the stormtroopers the corridor it opened to was empty. It seemed more like an expensive hotel than a high tech medical facility, which was undoubtedly the point. Other than regularly spaced emergency call alarms and the discreet plaques and certificates on the walls that spoke of the illustrious training of the staff there was nothing to hint at its true nature.
Arine led the way to a plain wooden door, not obviously different to any of the others, though the spacing between it and its neighbours suggested it was significantly larger on the inside than those that surrounded it.
"I'll just see if Dr. Grey can see you..." Arine began before Kryn roughly pushed her back. The stormtroopers slammed themselves one each side of the door. Tarik glanced again at Ulrich who nodded. Tarik tried the door which was unlocked and threw it open. The troopers moved through training their weapons on the room's only occupant. The grey bearded man sat at his desk seemed remarkably relaxed at the appearance of five armed strangers in his office.
"Welcome Marshal Sodor. I must say I don't see many Arbites in my line of work but I suppose you must have the same needs and desires as anyone else." Dr. Grey smiled pleasantly as he stood. He would have been a tall man but a significant hunch to his back reduced him to just over average height and he reached for a staff propped up behind his desk with the stiff limbed movements of the truly ancient. "Normally I would insist upon an appointment but as you are here." The voice was strong with none of the age evident in the body and the expression was one of open kindness, the face of a true healer as he stepped towards them.
Ulrich stepped forwards raising a hand in greeting.
"We seem to be at cross purposes I am Lord Ul..." he stopped abruptly. "What are you?"
The doctor paused and frowned, the kindness in his expression vanished.
"You're hollow. You're no man at all!" Ulrich yelled, witchfire suddenly surrounding his staff. In a curious mirror Dr. Grey slammed his own staff on the floor, a black nimbus surrounded it and as blue flame leapt from Ulrich's staff it just as quickly vanished into the black stave. Ulrich stepped closer swinging his staff viciously towards Dr. Grey's head. Grey simply brought his own staff up and blocked it, all trace of the earlier stiffness gone. The two staffs connected with a crack and both men staggered Ulrich's staff glowing red hot. The psyker dropped it and leapt forwards grabbing a handful of the doctors coat and ramming a solid open palm strike into his sternum. It would have shattered bone but instead the blow rang with a dull metallic thud and Ulrich hissed in pain.
One stormtrooper had moved with Kryn into the room and they both were trying to flank the doctor and get an angle where they could fire without hitting Ulrich. The second waited with Tarik at the door hoping for a shot from that position. Seeing he was about to be surrounded the doctor moved with lightning speed, grabbing the tall psyker by the throat with one hand. Ulrich pawed at him choking before he was thrown bodily into the stormtrooper. As the two went down in a pile of limbs the Doctor brought his staff down holding it like an long barrelled rifle and the distinctive green of a gauss flayer blast shot out. The second stormtrooper yanked Tarik out of the way as the beam flickered through where they had been standing and the first shotgun blast rang out from Kryn, finally able to get a clean shot. The Doctor's skin and clothes shredded in the blast revealing a hard metal skeleton underneath shining like silver.
"Necron!" Tarik gasped, firing a pair of well aimed las bolts from the floor that put dents into the doctor's chest. Both of which blurred and then the mirror sheen was back. Now both stormtroopers were firing. The overpowered hellgun blasts putting welts into the necrodermis. Kryn dropped her shotgun and reached for her bolt pistol. Sighting carefully she took a two handed grip and put a full clip into the chest of the necron. The concentrated fire blasted a large hole into the necron and sent it staggering backwards, wires and strange alien machinery revealed by the explosive bolts. It squawked in outrage and reached for an amulet at its neck that had been hidden under the doctor's clothes. A silvery fluid poured out and over the wounds. Ulrich was on his feet and reaching for his own weapon. Tarik grabbed the blades from his arm holsters, deciding the pistol was next to useless and advanced as the stormtroopers continued to fire, spacing their shots to avoid overheating.
"Half witted monkeys." The necron spat, the voice still sounding like a mature cultured doctor despite a bolt having removed most of its jaw. It changed its grip on its staff then fired another coruscating blast, this one took Ulrich in the stomach. Kryn slammed home another clip of bolts then threw herself sideways to avoid the next blast from the staff. Tarik rolled in close to the necron, jumping to his feet in a blur and bringing a powered blade round. Fast as the blow was the necron got its staff in the way to block it. There was a flash and static discharge crackled around the two weapons. Tarik dropped the blade and grabbed onto the necron's arm instead pushing the staff up with it and bringing the other blade around in a disembowelling strike. This connected, though the silver fluid from the amulet ran towards the fresh wound it moved more slowly as though the effect was lessening.
Kryn moved to get a clear shot with a fresh clip in her bolt pistol while one of the stormtroopers ran in with a combat blade. Uttering an alien curse the necron shoved Tarik back and brought its staff down a final time, behind it a green circle opened and it stepped back disappearing into the portal which vanished as fast as it had arrived.
There was a frozen moment before Tarik flipped to his feet and ran to the door, beside it was an internal intercom.
"Medical emergency Dr. Grey's room." he reported. Several of the nearby doors opened and various bewildered doctors peered out, the prior sounds of combat discouraging them from investigating too quickly. One relatively young looking doctor ran in followed by a pair of medical orderlies who ran to Ulrich and began trying to stem the bleeding. Tarik caught the doctor's arm.
"What are you? A glorified midwife? What do you know about treating energy weapon trauma?"
The doctor pushed him away.
"I was a field surgeon for the PDF, you!" He pointed at one of the stormtroopers. "Get this idiot out of my way so I can work." The trooper froze looking to Tarik for instruction.
Tarik stepped away smartly and bowed but the doctor was already heading the patient's side.
"Compression. Adrenaline. Get Op 3 ready, saline and u-type blood stat."
Tarik beckoned over a trooper. "Kirkham you watch over Ulrich. Don't get in the way but keep him covered. Back up will be on its way. Finch – where did that Arine woman get to."
"She ran during the fire fight." Kryn volunteered.
"Find her." Tarik ordered slipping a vox link from his belt. "Cormack I want you and Totiem here. It's the necron hub. Bring a squad, include a medic. Add a few Arbites in case we get crowd control problems."
"You're free with the orders." Kryn observed.
"Ulrich isn't in a position to give them."
Kryn snorted. Tarik opened the door to the nearest office. "Marshal with me. Finch bring Arine here."
He marched in and waited until Kryn had followed and closed the door. The office was a smart consulting room. Large desk of what looked like real wood, with a comfortable leather chair on one side and less ostentatious equivalents the other. An examination table was discretely screened from casual view in one corner and elegantly chased cupboards presumably held all the necessary medical equipment that important visitors did not want to see right up until it became necessary. Tarik turned and lent against the desk. Kryn took two steps into the room then stopped folding her arms and waiting for Tarik to begin.
"What's your problem?" Tarik asked without rancour.
"Ulrich isn't an inquisitor is he." Kryn stated.
"And you conclude this because..."
"Oh come on. Ulrich's fighting a necron hand to hand and one stormtrooper is trying to get an angle while the other keeps you covered. When you go in they attack a killer robot with knives, like that would do any good. They were protecting you."
"And it's no good saying I am an important asset." Tarik smiled but there was little warmth in it.
"Inquisitorial stormtroopers protect their Inquisitor. And before you try some smart response that was just confirmation."
"Stormtroopers do as ordered. And that might on occasions involve leaving an Inquisitor to die. But you're not wrong. I am the Inquisitor. Ulrich is my Interrogator. And if he survives this will probably become an Inquisitor in his own right in due time."
"Is this some sort of elaborate practical joke?"
"Marshal you are a symbol of authority. You stand in the light. Your black and gold and are the visible sign of Imperial power. You want people to see you and be terrified into obedience. I work in the shadows. Often with people shooting at me. I would prefer it if they shoot at someone else they see as a more important target. It makes it easier to do my job. I can get my orders followed by using my rank. Ulrich gets obeyed because he looks the part, can kill you with a thought and he can use my rank. Using him makes it easier to do my job. Taking you into my confidence hopefully will make it easier to do my job. Was there anything else?"
Kryn glared at the Inquisitor.
"There is something else so would you please say what it is so we can get on with stopping the necrons doing whatever they are doing." Tarik growled, patience obviously wearing out.
"You said you've worked with Ulrich for years, that I believe. But you showed more emotion when a gang leader you'd never met got shot."
"You mean Trask? Of course. That was a failure, we lost a source of information in a way I should have seen coming. This mission was a success. Ulrich, or any of us going down in the process was a calculated risk that paid off. "
"What did you achieve?"
Now the smile Tarik wore seemed genuine.
"Marshal a high ranking necron like the one we just encountered has superhuman reflexes, superhuman strength and is all but invulnerable to damage. Why would anyone engage it hand to hand? " He reached into his belt and pulled out a disk of translucent white that reminded Kryn of old bones. "I was going to plant this but Ulrich got his attached first."
"A tracking device."
"Of sorts. Necrons don't appear from nowhere. They don't vanish into thin air, they go somewhere else. Now we can find out where. If I had been the one shot Ulrich would have considered it a fair trade for the information. "
"I'm sure you being shot would make a lot of people happy."
"Grow up Marshal. I need you to understand what is happening. There are a thousand threats we are neglecting to deal with this, at some point my team and I will have to leave to deal with one of the others. PDF, Guard, even the mechanicus are all made up primarily or entirely out of Tetrans. The Governor is a third generation Tetran. Do you get it? The necrons built this world and made it a haven for humanity, they have fought to protect the humans here. These are the same necrons that want to wipe out all life in the universe. It does not make sense. It makes every human born here suspect and the only organisation that does not ever recruit locally is the Arbites. The only force we can trust is yours. When we leave you will be picking up the pieces. I don't care if you like me, hate me or are utterly indifferent – deal with the threat to humanity."
"You lied to me."
"Not that I recall. But even if I did what of it? I'm an Inquisitor I can lie to whoever I like about whatever I like."
"You said Ulrich..."
"Was a Lord. And he is. His father died and the title rightfully goes to the firstborn son. Of course if that firstborn son is a powerful psychic his options are join the Inquisition or take a trip in the black ships for soul binding. So his younger brother is acting as his agent and has all the property and power, just lacks the title."
"You said he was the Inquisitor."
"No. Impersonating an Inquisitor is a capital crime. We have never said Ulrich had that rank. He simply acted like he had it and no one asked too many questions."
"Your identification when you handed it to the governor."
"Said Ulrich was acting under Inquisitorial mandate. If you were all too preoccupied to read it properly at the time, well that was rather the point. Kryn we got what we wanted. We have a location for the necrons. At least we will when we get back to the ship. This..." he gestured to the building they were in "...is likely to be where they were doing whatever exactly they were doing."
Kryn smashed her elbow into the wall in frustration.
"I hate being lied to."
"And the universe cares very little about your feelings on the matter. I don't recall having lied to you and I have a very good memory, almost eidetic. If you can't trust what I say trust what I am. An Inquisitor. Trusted to ward the full authority of Him on the Throne. Wiser minds than yours chose me. The fate of the Imperium in its trillions depends on the decisions of individuals. So make your decision. Do you trust me enough to deal with the necron threat?"
Grudgingly Kryn nodded. "One final question."
"If you must."
"Totiem. Is he one of yours?"
Tarik looked at her for a few seconds.
"If he was an undercover asset for the inquisition I would not confirm it. If he was not I would not deny it."
"You allowed me a question."
"I never said I would answer it."
The chime of an incoming vox stalled the argument before it could continue. Tarik stalked over to the door and opened it. Arine was standing looking rather dishevelled. One shoe had been lost at some point and her hair had escaped its braid. Stormtrooper Finch stood behind her one hand on her shoulder in a way that could have been supportive, but suggested it was half an inch from being an agonising choke hold if she tried to run away again.
"Now Arine, we have friends arriving. You will have them met at reception and escorted to the diagnostic equipment. Which is where you will be taking us. Now." Tarik made a lead on gesture and the unfortunate manager limped down the corridor, making what arrangements she could over a vox link.
Several hours later Cormack extracted himself from underneath the machine. A new set of stormtroopers were on duty but Kryn and Tarik were still waiting for his report. Tarik chewing on a ration bar, Kryn looking up from a data slate where she had been engaging in a review of old archive files.
"Well?" Tarik demanded through a mouthful.
"Like the diagnosis engine. Human components in a layout that doesn't match anything I have ever seen either in life or in a data recording. And here and there what appears to be either well disguised xenos tech or some lost archaeotech that has been recreated using modern materials. I can see roughly what it does. I can see how it does 90% of it. That last bit... Omnissia knows."
"Could you recreate it?"
"Yes. Which is alarming. It is so sophisticated and beyond current Imperial medical science. But any well trained magos could repair it or replace any given part. Usually the more sophisticated a technology is the harder it is to maintain. This... it is art as much as artifice. It was designed to work... well practically forever."
"So what does it do?"
"The diagnosis machine is not entirely a diagnosis machine, it certainly diagnoses female reproductive issues, but it also actively fixes them. In addition it harvests eggs during diagnoses and appears to introduce various hormonal and chemical changes, presumably to prepare for implantation. Short of the most serious issues, any woman of childbearing age would be fully ready to conceive a few days afterwards. This device..." He patted the machine next to him. "Implants a fertilized egg, throws in a few minor chemical and hormonal fixes to ensure successful growth and seals off the fallopian tubes so only the implanted egg will gestate."
"It sterilizes the woman?" Kryn asked startled.
"Her own eggs won't be released, but she will still be fertile if this machine implants another later. And of course anyone here in the first place already believes themselves to be infertile. I could check the male diagnostic machine. My guess is it will collect a sperm sample then block the glans to ensure that only the chosen egg and sperm are used."
"Wouldn't people notice the children they have are not theirs?"
Cormack looked up thinking for a moment. "I am not saying they wouldn't be. It would be easy enough to store the samples from diagnosis and then use them in implantation. Given the numbers of samples taken it would also be possible to ensure alternate donors have similar physical characteristics to the prospective parents. And of course many couples would accept that the nature of their infertility means a child may not be a genetic match for both of them."
"So we have a ready supply of willing surrogates who could be implanted with any genetic combination of children. I do not like the feel of this." Tarik growled.
"Could. Unless we do genetic scans of parents and children we have no evidence it was done, only that these machines are capable of making those sort of substitutions."
"You honestly believe otherwise?" Kryn snorted.
"No. But evidence trumps opinion."
"Thanks Cormack. Confirm your suspicions with the other diagnostic machine, get what records you can about the selection of genetic donors then head to the ship. We'll need you to run the trace."
Tarik stood to leave then waited impatiently for Kryn to join him.
"Are you going to check on Ulrich?"
"No. I have no medical skill to offer and the last thing an injured psyker needs is an untouchable nearby."
Tarik left. Swallowing another burst of anger Kryn followed.