"There he is! Get him!" The Arbitrator's voice echoed across the otherwise empty alleyway. Uttering a curse, Jericus leapt out of his cover and onto the broken access ladder across from him. He climbed as if his life depended on it. It probably did, too.

There were two Arbitrators following him, their faces not visible behind their masks. The lead Arbitrator, who appeared to be a younger man, ran to follow him, while the other one, apparently older and wiser, stayed back and trained his las rifle at Jericus's back. The ladder shook as the younger officer grabbed onto it.

Unfortunately for both of them, Jericus was far too fast. He climbed at breakneck speed, reaching the top of the ladder in record time. It appeared to lead into an access tunnel for one of the higher levels of the hive. He pulled himself in as the older officer, still on the ground, fired a frustrated shot at his feet. Jericus pulled his legs into the tunnel as the las bolt whizzed past.

He took a quick look around, and saw that there was no hatch to pull over the ladder. To his left, the tunnel stretched on into blackness. To his right, the same. Above him was nothing but a tunnel roof. He mentally flipped a coin, then took off down the left tunnel.

He heard the Arbitrator finish ascending the ladder behind him, apparently in time to see him leave. The footsteps behind him increased in speed, and he realized that the young officer was sprinting behind him. There didn't appear to be a way out of the tunnel, either. He kept running, hoping for a way out.

Sure enough, it appeared just one hundred meters down the tunnel. It split into four different tunnels, each in a different direction. He picked one at random and ran, his legs moving like pistons beneath him. He had run for several minutes before he realized his mistake.

The tunnel was a dead end.

He sword and spun on his heel, determined to run the other way, but no luck; he heard the footsteps of the Arbitrator coming down the tunnel. He must have heard his footsteps, or maybe just guessed well. Either way, he was going to be trapped, and soon. He pulled the small pistol at his waist from his holster, and offered a short prayer to the God-Emperor before pushing himself against the wall and pointing his weapon down the tunnel.

It didn't take long before the young trooper came into view. He already had her rifle in her hands, aiming it ahead. Jericus pushed himself closer to the wall, praying that he would not be noticed. He took a deep breath and held it, doing everything in his power to not be noticed.

It didn't work; perhaps the trooper's helmet enhanced his vision, or perhaps there simply wasn't enough space to hide. Either way, the trooper's rifle was aimed directly at his chest, and from the flashlight strapped under the barrel, he was that his pursuer was actually a young woman. About his age, in fact.

Right now, though, that didn't matter. What did matter was the weapon. Jericus dropped his gun and raised his hands over his head.

"Well, missy, ya caught me. What happens now?" Jericus's drawl came out in a confident tone, despite his circumstances. He couldn't see the trooper's face, but he could guess what it looked like from her tone of voice.

"What happens now, scum, is that I arrest you in the name of the God-Emperor and the Adeptus Arbites." She kept her right hand on the trigger as she moved her left hand to a pair of bindings on her belt. Just the opportunity he needed.

With a swift motion, Jericus grabbed the barrel of the trooper's rifle with his left hand while his right hand went for the trigger. The rifle flashed, once, and he felt a sharp pain in his hand, but with a quick twist he pulled the rifle from her hands, and with another motion brought the rifle's stock into the trooper's chin. She fell to the ground on her back, and Jericus switched the rifle's direction around and pointed it at her.

"Well, missy, it looks like they could have trained you a little better. Stay right there." Still aiming at the rifle at her face, Jericus reached down and snatched the binders from the girls belt. "Alright, girl, I ain't gonna hurt you, but I gotta go free. Turn around and lie on your front."

The trooper oblidged, and while he couldn't see her face through the mask, he assumed she was glaring daggers at him the whole time. When she finished moving, he pulled her arms behind her and secured them with the binders. Once she was secure, he pulled her helmet off, revealing a tightly cropped head of red hair. She was indeed glaring at him.

"Sorry, miss. Can't have you calling for help until ah'm long gone." He threw the helmet down the tunnel, followed by her rifle. "I really am sorry, ya know. I hate tussling with the Arbites, but I guess I got sloppy."

"You won't get away, scum." Her face was brimming over with anger. "I have the might of Emperor behind me!"

"Ah'm sure ya do, missy, but right now it looks like he favors me." Jericus stepped away to retrieve his own weapon. When he looked at his right hand while he reached for it, he noticed the burned stump where his pinky finer had been.

"Would ya look at that! Ya tagged me good. Better than any other Arbitrator." He chuckled to himself; it hadn't hurt very much. The blast must have severed his nerves before he could feel it. "I have to be off now, missy, before your partner arrives. Good luck to you."

In response, she tried to spit at him, though it didn't reach far enough and didn't quite manage to reach his feet.

"Defiant, huh? That's good, that's good." As he turned to leave, he spared one last look at the trooper. "And always remember, it was Jericus Erek who got away from ya." With one last mocking laugh, he took off down the tunnel as the Arbitrator began yelling at him.

***Six Months Later***

"Jericus Erek?"

Hearing the voice inside his home was startling. Especially because he lived alone. In a bad part of town. He bolted out of bed, his pistol already in his hand and pointed at the indistinct figure in the corner of his room.

"Put your weapon down, Jericus. You couldn't harm me if you tried."

Jericus rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand and kept his weapon centered with the other.

"Ah'll be the judge of that. What in the Warp are you doing in my house?"

The stranger began to pull something from his coat. In response, Jericus fired, a single bullet flying at the stranger. It seemed to hit him square in the chest, but the stranger didn't even stagger. Instead, he only sighed.

"If you will let me get on with this, Jericus?"

Jericus, too stunned to say anything, simply nodded.

"Very good." The stranger completed his motion, pulling a badge out from his coat. As he looked closer, Jericus saw a shape he didn't recognize; a stylized human skull atop the wings of an Imperial aquila. An official visit of some kind, then.

"I take it you do not recognize this, then?" The stranger shook his head, in a slow gesture filled with unmistakable authority. "It is of no consequence. You have heard of the Ordo Hereticus?"

Jericus gulped. The Ordo Hereticus was well known among the underworld for destroying any whispers of heresy. For this stranger to invoke their name so casually meant something, but Jericus could not put his finger on it. For his part, the stranger did not seem perturbed.

"I will take that as a yes, then. As an agent of the Golden Throne, the Inquisition, and the Ordo Hereticus, I formally deputize you. You are to report immediately to my ship, the Emperor's Determination, and remain there until given further instruction." Jericus had no response to that. "Do you understand? Simply nod if you do."

These instructions seemed to shake Jericus from his reverie. "You're an Inquisitor? Here? What in the Emperor's name do you want with me?"

"I can say no more here. It is not safe. I will answer all your questions in time." With a suspicious glance, the Inquisitor began to leave.

"Just one more question, then. Who are you?"

The Inquisitor turned, a grim expression on his face.

"I am Inquisitor Tarus Dart. And we are running out of time."