The air will filled with anxiety, careful not to give an answer that would deceive the Inquisitor, nor cause trouble for himself, Jastilus sat tensely in place. So far the questions had been mostly routine, name, occupation, home, family, skills education, it reminded him of several uncomfortable interviews he had before, the comparison led to some unpleasant ideas. His own answered questions raced through his mind, why the Inquisitor had brought him here, and what did he want with him? Jastilus bit his tongue, struggling to resist his natural thirst for knowledge and desire for answers, the last thing he wanted was to dig himself any deeper than he already was.
"Good, you've answered me honestly so far," The Inquisitor stated with a sense of satisfaction.
"You knew all of tha-I mean yes Lord Inquisitor," Jastilus replied uneasy.
"Of course, It is my job to know things after all," There was a trace of enjoyment in the inquisitors voice.
"Now, that you have confirmed what I already knew, you can enlighten me on what I do not."
" I don't follow sir," Jastilus was genuinely unsure what the inquisitor meant.
" My retinue and I discovered you while investigating a possible link to a contraband smuggling operation. We had just finished clearing the warehouse of scum when we found you, half beaten to death, drugged beyond coherent thought, tied to a chair after what we presumed was an interrogation. In fact the only reason you weren't disposed of with the rest of the gang was your uniform, which we recognised as showing allegiance to a Noble House, so I dug a little into your life and I was quite...Shall we say interested in why you were so far away from the comfortable Upper Hive."
A cold tendril worked its way through Jastilus's memory, remembering something which your mind had pushed down to the pit of your psyche was not a quick or pleasant experience, the steady growth of a tumour pushing its way forwards, stretching from the spine till it reaches your eyes and you see which was forgotten. Jastilus saw the warehouse ware he had been held hostage, he remembered the blows landed on his face, the slices of the blades as they cut into his arms. He fought to stay in the present, to not be dragged back to re live the torture.
"It was a mistake sir, I found a mistake, a shipping manifest didn't add up, cargo was regularly delivered to an outlying warehouse. I thought it was just something small time, ship workers skimming off profits, or smuggling bootleg products. Nothing worth involving anyone important, I thought if I confronted them I could get it under control without resorting to months of red tape and paperwork. It wouldn't have been the first time, life isn't always easy within the hive, and some of our crew members try to make money on the side, it's not something I can accept but at the same time, it's not usually serious enough to justify ruining people's lives." Jastilus was still shaken from remembering, unconcerned with what the Inquisitor would make of his unorthodox approach to his duty.
" I see," the Inquisitor stopped, eyes turned from Jastilus, his focus directed inwards as if deciding an unknown matter, he rubbed a gloved hand across his chin, scratching the stubble that covered his neck.
"You are Naturally curious, with a sense of responsibility towards one's fellow-man, and you show initiative. Despite your shortcomings which I won't bore you with, you have my attention, not a common occurrence I assure you. I think I might just be able to make use of you Havlock, you're going to join my retinue," The smile that flashed from the Inquisitors face was not a comforting image but one of grim amusement, enjoying the surprise of the young noble him.
" Now unless you have any questions..." The tone of the Inquisitors voice made it clear that his offer of induction was non-negotiable.
"Only one sir, you know who I am, you know a great deal about me, but I don't even know where I am." Jastilus wondered if this was the right question to ask, he was aware Inquisitors were not fond of answering to anyone, he had wanted to ask for his name, but directly asking him felt stupid, dangerous even.
"The Emperor's Tear, my ship docked in an outlying spire of Hive Augustus, and I am Inquisitor Kasteel, now that we have properly introduced ourselves I have business to attend to. The rest of my retinue will see to anything further you require, we will speak again soon." A short bow of the head was the only ceremony from the Inquisitor before he turned and exited the room without a further word, leaving Jastilus still seated, still stunned at his newly appointed status as a member of an Inquisitors retinue.
Shortly after Inquisitor Kasteel had departed from the crew lounge Solaria returned to the room flanked either side by daunting looking warriors, the situation would have seemed unusual on any other day, but with everything that had happened so far, Jastilus was almost growing accustomed to the abnormal. The warriors that flanked Solaria hailed from two radically different schools of combat, to her right marched a hulking figure, thick slabs of muscle twitched below his grey fatigues as his heavy footsteps echoes throughout the hall. Thick carapace plates of matt green only increased the soldiers stature, the armour while lovingly maintained still could not hide the whispers of previous battles, shallow dents and scorch marks littered the man's shoulders and torso. Worn over the armour webbing housed a variety of equipment, an entrenching tool hung at the man's hip, handle gnarled and rough with age, pouches of ammunition found their way into any available space not occupied by vicious looking knives. Etched upon the soldiers vambraces were a series of tally lines, neatly painted in clean white slowly finding themselves approaching the edge of the armour. Jastilus guessed they were kill counters though he didn't wish to count the exact number of lives ended.
Fittingly the man's face was as rigid as his armour, olive skin crossed with a multitude of scars telling stories of desperate struggles. A neat beard clung to his face, dark hair thick and curling with just a hint of grey worked its way up the soldiers face before ending abruptly with his shaved head. His dark eyes worked their way over Jastilus careful not to overlook any potential threats, veterans eyes.
The second figure accompanying Solaria was the soldiers opposite, a lean frame carried the assassin silently across the polished floor, footsteps light and agile. A form-fitting black bodysuit seemed to trap the light within the confines of its interlaced skin, her face lay concealed behind a formless mask, eyes hidden behind red lenses. She carried a smaller assortment of weapons than the soldier, though they were much more exotic in design, wicked blades learned menacingly from their sheath's, longing for use. While the soldier was intimidating, physically impressive and well armed, this silent killer unnerved Jastilus far more because of her understated presence. No personal touches or human features rendered her an inhuman weapon, remorseless and deadly.
Jastilus found himself drawn back to Solaria's radiant smile, she was totally unfazed by her present company which raised his spirits, while they appeared menacing he wondered if appearances would be deceiving.
"I hope the inquisitor Wasn't too rough on you," Solaria mused, with a large grin on her face.
"He was quite intense, I wouldn't want to cross him," Jastilus admitted.
"When you get to know him better he actually warms up a little, he's an Inquisitor but he's still human after all," Solaria replied.
"Before he left he told us he was inducting you into his retinue, which means we need to get you up to speed with everything, though first I think we should get you out of that medical gown."
"Followed by putting my uniform back on I hope," Jastilus surprised himself with his attempt at humour, but he didn't want to appear nervous or shy to his new colleagues.
Solaria rolled her eyes in mock annoyance while her two accomplices glanced at each other, the soldier raising an eyebrow to the assassin.
"If you must then, go wait in the medical bay" Solaria replied feigning disappointment as she tapped a few buttons on her dataslate.
Jastilus retreated back toward the familiar cold grey room, taking a seat upon the bunk where he had awoken earlier. After waiting a few minutes, a flustered looking crew hand returned his personal effects, presumably having received instructions from Solaria. Laying his uniform upon the bed Jastilus took note of the various damages it had sustained. The light blue fabric of his work tunic was clean having been recently washed, but it still bore scars of his eventful foray into the under-hive. Cuts and tears were carefully repaired, but discolouration of dried blood remained around the repairs, he wondered if it would ever completely fade.
While dressing himself his thoughts drifted back towards Solaria, she was incredibly unusual for a member of the Brotherhood of Mars, most of the members he had met though trade guilds had been humourless and unsocial, he wondered how she had ended up in the employ of an Inquisitor, opposed to working on one of the great industrial worlds the Mechanicus operated.
When finally satisfied that his attire was in smart order Jastilus returned to the crew lounge, once again taking to the seats. Solaria sat opposite him, typing away on her dataslate intently, next to her the Soldier sat rigidly, spine straightened as if waiting to spring to his feet and into action. The assassin sat separately on her own sofa, legs crossed with elbows resting on her knees with arms crossed.
"Let's get started then, shall we?" Solaria asked smiling, Jastilus exhaled, OK he thought, let's try not to screw this up.