A/N: This chapter contains spoilers about a number of events from "Valdor: Birth of the Imperium". Kandawire is the main character from that book. Additionally, the reason for the delay is that I had a nightmare of a time figuring out how the "First Heretic" and "False Gods" worked with this story.
Neoth and Malcador stood by each other in the Emperor's office, watching a lone flyer take off into the distance through the stained glass window.
"2 days ahead of schedule..." Malcador noted as he pinched his wizened chin. "... just as expected." He nodded to himself before turning to his friend. "This path is fraught with danger."
"More dangerous than purging the Cataegis?" Neoth said with a sarcastic snort.
"The act may take from your armies, but you will remain untouched." Malcador answered back. "The Imperium's core will be tested, and its structure of governance questioned." He turned to look up at his friend's face. "There is still time to send the Legiones Cataegis after Avelroi."
"I have made my decision." Neoth replied firmly, then changed the subject. "How go the preparations with the Terrawatt clans?"
"The Captain General is preparing for their escorts to the sites you requested." Malcador said with a soft sigh. "The Imperial Palace's defenses will be left almost entirely to the Lucifer Blacks and a sparse number of your new Legions when they depart."
"Good." Neoth said quietly.
"I too will depart to Hy-Brasil, and take many of our assassins with me once the Ethnarchy has been defeated." Malcador continued, slightly reproachfully.
Neoth finally sighed, then looked down.
"What do you wish to say, Malcador."
"That this is the last moment to return to our original plan."
The plan to blacken the Legiones Cataegis's name, and have them disappear from the face of Terra.
At first glance, it appeared to be a military and political set-back. The loss of the fighting force that had unified Terra would make the Imperium seem weak and the Emperor's unbroken series of victories upon this planet would end.
However, that false sense of security was what the Emperor wanted his enemies to feel. In that brief moment where it seemed he only had his limited Custodes to draw upon, his closest enemies would gather to strike him.
They would not do it directly. No politician does things in such a manner. Their rebellion would use elements or pawns that could not be traced back to them. There were many disgruntled men and women on Terra who would die gladly, if only to leave a scar on the Imperium. The surviving lieutenants of deposed warlords. Mercenary groups sulking at the forced ban on looting and raping imposed by Imperial jurisdiction. Rebellious fools who hated the idea of having to live under the rule of the Emperor despite having no actual grudges against him.
These pawns would be thrown against his closest allies, namely Constantin Valdor and Malcador. By removing them, the enemies within the Imperium hoped to force the Emperor's hand, and have him elevate them to fill the power vacuum left behind.
Even with all their greed and arrogance, they recognized they could not challenge the Emperor directly. Even if by some miracle they managed to kill him, the only thing that would bring was civil war and a return to the lawless barbarian states that had preceded the Imperium's order. No other besides the Emperor could hold the Imperium together. He would have to survive for them to reap their rewards, even if it was as a figurehead upon a corpse empire.
This was why he needed that momentary weakness, and the false sense of security it brought to the politicians in the Imperium. It was the bait he laid for them to send their minions against him, only for every single one of them to be slaughtered by the newly revealed Legions.
The politicians who sent them would be untouched. Corrupt and greedy as they were, they were still part of the bureaucracy of the Imperium. Hence, the slaughter of the malcontents against his rule, in addition to removing those who had a grudge against him, served to send a hidden message written in blood to their masters.
'I know.'
Those two words would have the lords who worked behind the scenes looking over their shoulder, and shuddering in their sleep until the day they died. Fear would keep them obedient and efficient at their duties, for they would be smart enough to understand it was only the duty they served that spared them the fate of their minions.
With this hidden threat, and the revelation of the new Legions, the Emperor would resume the conquering of Terra at a speed that would overtake that of the Cataegis.
One of their first targets would be the Ethnarchy, where the Cataegis would have died. The destruction of the polity the Cataegis had failed to take by the new Legions would symbolize their superiority over their predecessors. After that; Orloc, Hy-Brasil, Akkad, Oxitania, and the Saragorn Enclave would be attacked and destroyed in rapid succession. Merica was already on track to unify with the Imperium, thanks to the efforts and connection of Noum Retraiva.
That was the plan within plans the Sigilite, the Captain-General, and the Emperor had prepared in order to ensure the culture of obedience in the Imperium's inner workings.
But that was not the plan the Emperor followed now.
"The Unification War will be ended ahead of schedule." Neoth said. "The momentary blank created by the destruction of the Legiones Cataegis will not occur, and the final preparations for the victory declarations proceed as originally planned. What would motivate me to turn back?"
With the Cataegis intact, the Imperium could continue expanding across Terra uninterrupted. What's more, the diplomatic mission he had sent to the remaining un-unified states were bearing fruit. The Mericas had been given the assurances they wanted to preserve their economic independence while given access to the trade routes of the Imperium. Hy-Brasil's tyrant, Dalmoth Kyn, thought himself in a position to infiltrate the Imperium and steal the secrets that gave its Emperor power beyond the common man. Orloc had rejected him, as expected, as well as Akkad, Oxitania and the Saragorn Enclave.
Yet, despite the benefits on the surface, there were losses as well.
"Greater freedoms means less control." Malcador cautioned. "Without the fear that would be instilled by wiping out the Cataegis, those who are only waiting for the Unification Wars to end will act out against you."
Without the binding fear instilled by the brutality of the original plan, opportunism would begin to spread. On top of that, the Cataegis would be left to their own volition, and once freed from their medical dependency on the Imperium, they could strike out on their own.
Leaving them to boast of their deeds would allow them to lay claim to the glory of Unification, which would in turn detract from the Emperor's monopoly on the great deed.
That was one of the more painful costs of the current plan Malcador saw.
The Cataegis may be awed by the Emperor now, but they were still human.
Given time; they could forget, they could overstep, and they could become overambitious.
"The Imperium may not become unquestionable." The Sigilite whispered.
That was the original vision of the Imperium. There would be no diversion from the Emperor's vision. With the fear and awe inspired by his multiple victories and hidden messages, his subjects would look upon him as their only possible salvation. Allowing the Cataegis to survive, and act on their own accord would endanger that.
"So long as there is a dream for an empire, it will live." Neoth said with a smile. "Besides, there are portions of my original plan that remain. A figurehead has been prepared for my enemies to gather around, and bait is being laid within the Imperial Palace." He turned his head towards his desk where the partially completed designs of the soul transfer machine appeared on a data tablet. "The pieces have changed, but the game itself remains the same."
Malcador let out a short sigh. If that were true, he would have been much less worried. The change in attitude towards religion, and the new social safety net would bring both boons and danger. Good kings were not always the most long-lived, and fear lasted far longer than love.
"Then we should make haste with the preparations." He said with a tired smile. "If all goes according to schedule, your sons' first sight will be of a unified Terra."
Regardless of the path, he would stand by his friend to the end. His friend was right. So long as there was a dream to believe in, humanity would follow the Emperor.
Neoth only nodded back in return, and there was a strange silence between the two of them.
"I shall begin the process of promoting Uwoma Kandawire." Malcador continued. "Although she will no longer serve her original role, we still need a Grand Provost Marshal."
Uwoma Kandawire. That was the name of the original figure head. Her role was to serve as the focal point for the malcontents within the Imperium. It was behind her back that the pawns of the politicians would gather, and her clarion call would provide the legitimacy for their rebellion.
The arrest and trial of the Captain General for the massacre of the Legiones Cataegis, and the perversion of the Lex Imperialis. That would be the reason for attacking the Imperial Palace, or more specifically Constantin Valdor. By bringing the leader of the Custodes to justice with the Emperor's own laws, Kandawire sought to set a new precedent that no one was beyond reproach. The new world would not be ruled by force, but by laws made by governments that kept themselves in check.
It was a noble goal, but ultimately doomed due to the use of force to achieve it. If Kandawire truly wished to make sure the law became the new order, she should have never resorted to violence to arrest the Captain General. Even if she did succeed, her ideals would rot around her as that hypocrisy corroded her very convictions.
However, there would be no need for her to act as a figurehead this time.
The Emperor's enemies would be gathered behind Governor Nour's back. He was their new figurehead to gather their political enemies together. However, in order to ensure they would gather behind him, a little push on their side was needed as well.
'Nour has laid the groundwork regarding that as well.' Malcador thought to himself. 'All that is left is to let the Arbites do their work.'
The new Governor had infiltrated many of the corrupt and decadent levels of the Imperial Palace while he was a lord. These lower tier criminals were not critical to the bureaucracy, but losing them in large numbers was problematic. However, Malcador had other uses for them.
'They will be the tinder to smoke out the ones we really want.' He thought to himself. 'Their fates will encourage those higher up to make their move. The Arbites will be the hunting hounds sent to flush out our prey from their hiding places.'
Uwoma Kandawire was a heavy set woman; a result of a childhood spent mostly in starvation, causing her body to store calories in memory of the poverty she had survived. Like many from the Afrik regions, fat built up on her lower half, giving her a thick posterior and thighs. Coupled with her shortish stature of 160 cm, another result from poor diet in her younger years, those less fond of her called her a female squat behind her back.
There were many who despised her, both in high and low places. Public servants who are uncompromising, incorruptible, and adept at what they do often are.
Kandawire was a particularly stubborn public servant; a Marshal of the Court for the Adeptus Terra. She oversaw the Adeptus Arbites for part of the Imperial Palace. Her occupation was ensuring that the judges and Arbitrators tasked with protecting the Lex Imperialis, the law of the Imperium, followed it to the letter.
While the Emperor and the Imperial Regent were watching Governor Nour fly off to Avelroi, Kandawire was stuck behind an ornate desk. Parchments covered in wax seals, bundles of paper bound together with twine or metal circles, and far more advanced lithographic data cards surrounded her in organized piles, stacking together in such a way that they formed a literal wall that hid her from view. If it weren't from the scratching of quills, the clicking of mechanical keys, and the odd irritated grunt that came from behind this bureaucratic fort, one would have not assumed a person was behind it.
"Ophar!" She called out from behind her piles of documents, bright white teeth flashing from beneath her tough dark lips.
A tall, gangly man with bulging eyes approached the desk. He pulled at his collar as he came, causing the loose sleeves of his uniform to slide down, revealing the mechanical parts that had replaced his right arm. The skin on his cheeks had the parchment like texture old men of the desert often develop. Gray hairs in his otherwise dark mustache showed his age; although he himself would not have been able to tell anyone how many years he had been alive.
"When I said I hoped you would not crush yourself with work, I never expected to worry quite so literally, kondedwa." Ophar said as he began to tiptoe around the desk, as if afraid the slightest vibration would bring the piles of documents down upon Kandawire's head.
"Our slate-agents report another possible riot is brewing." Kandawire replied, ignoring Ophar's comments. "Water supplies were disrupted for the past 3 weeks to one of the lower hab sectors. Administratum records logged that aid supplies were sent, but dehydration grows ever worse on the streets."
"Theft? Blackmarket profiteering? Embezzlement?" Ophar asked as he rounded the desk to stand by Kandawire's side. A red head scarf covered Kandawire's wiry hair, exposing her round rough cheeks and button nose.
"That was what I wished to ask you." The Marshal of the Court said to her attendant. "I've been scouring these documents for the routes and logs of all the supplies that were sent, but everything seems to be in order."
"Then we can rule out internal sabotage." Ophar said with a shrug. "If it were, the Administratum would record those losses as well."
"They would have come down on us first with a stamped and accepted request for our reprimand and reimbursement for their losses from our coffers first; with all of the associated documentation, of course." Kandawire replied with a cynical snort.
"It is the duty of the Arbites to ensure the peace is kept." Ophar sighed. 'And thus we would get the blame if any harm came to Administratum goods within this sector.' He thought to himself grimly.
"If they wished for us to keep all of their investments safe, they should have given us a jurisdiction within their bureaucracy." Kandawire muttered as she leaned back in her chair.
"I for one am glad they do not." Ophar chuckled. "These piles would have been ten times the size."
Kandawire gave him a withering look, unamused by his attempt at levity before turning back to the piles of paperwork before her.
"It would have given us the ability to deal with corruption." She said solemnly. "At the moment, the best we can do is hand over the results of our investigation to the Administratum and hope the scoundrel in question isn't important enough to bury our evidence."
"It is because we have no jurisdiction that they do not come to assassinate you, kondedwa." Ophar cautioned. "Power brings its own form of danger."
"We're going off topic." Kandawire brushed him off. "At the moment, the Administratum seems to have done their duty, so there are two main possibilities for the shortage."
The Marshal of the Court took in a deep breath, before looking down at a signed and stamped delivery manifest on her desk.
"The first is that the supplies disappeared after they left the Administratum bureaucracy. This means that the loss occurred on the ground, after it reached its destination."
In other words, the water aid had been delivered, but someone within the sector had deprived it from its people. This was a common tactic for brigands and criminals, who often preyed on Imperial supply caravans, only to resell the goods to make their money.
"However, the possibility for this is low." Kandawire grimaced. "Thirst seems to be affecting everyone equally. If this was the result of profiteering, those with money would have been affected less."
"And the second possibility?" Ophar asked.
"That more water was needed than the Administratum gave." Kandawire said as she turned to a different stack of papers. "I've been looking through all these habitation permits and business licenses. The Administratum calculated the amount of necessary aid using documents like these to the deciliter." She then turned to a pile of data slates. "There are no complaints of excess pollution in the levels below this sector, nor the downstream infrastructure. There are no reports from our Slate-Agents of increased organized criminal activity. However, petty theft of food and small trinkets have risen over the past few years. Our patrol units in the area have also reported feeling light headed in the area, and the workers in this area have even submitted official requests for air masks."
"Then it is a population issue." Ophar's brow furrowed.
Unregistered businesses that used water usually used it for one of two purposes. As a solvent for cleaning and washing away waste, or to electrolyse it into hydrogen and oxygen.
However, the evidence gathered by Kandawire closed that possibility.
An increase in industrial waste would break the balance kept by the Imperium's infrastructure, leading to leakage into downstream sectors. This would be noted in a decrease or reduction in water quality in the surrounding areas.
An increase in oxygen production would not explain the gradual decrease in air quality of that area. Such reductions in breathable air occurred occasionally within the Imperial Palace. It was built far up the side of a mountain, and was only sustainable by ancient technology rediscovered by the Imperium. However, there was still the odd ebb and flow of bad air as it circulated throughout the palace. If illegal oxygen production was being done here, the first buyers would be the people within the sector itself.
Thus, the only likely possibility left was that there were more people inside the sector than were to be expected. The petty theft of food and trinkets like toys or nuts and bolts reinforced that line of suspicion.
"This entire Imperial Palace is built high up on the side of a mountain." Kandawire growled. "Humans were not meant to live here. Every life is sustained because of the technological marvels rediscovered by the Imperium and even those are pushed to the limit. A few hundred extra in a sector might be able to eke out an existence, but if the supporting infrastructure fails things can easily descend into chaos."
"Then what will you do, Marshal?" Ophar asked quietly.
The Marshal let out a long sigh.
"Every problem must have a corrective action and a preventative action." She said slowly. "The issue with the failure of infrastructure will have to be dealt with later, most likely by the Administratum. I cannot send my Arbitrators with hammers and nails, after all." The words left her toughened lips with a bitter smile. "The issue with the aid will also have to be left to them. I have already informed them of the issue, and they will eventually get around to it. Even they do not wish to deal with the death of an entire hab sector." Kandawire then stood up from her chair. "The biggest issue is the building riot." She said, looking at an open data tablet screen. "Damage to further infrastructure will endanger more sectors, and delay additional aid from coming in. We must break it up, or contain it."
Reports of growing unrest and looting within the sector scrolled past on the data tablet. Signs of growing organization within the sector's inhabitants and informant reports of secret gatherings being held were flagged in red.
The disruption to water supplies was at the sector level, meaning there was still water in other areas of the Imperial Palace. If there was no more water in the sector, they only had to take it from another to quench their thirst.
"We cannot allow barbarians to have their way, taking what they want by force." Kandawire said with a clenched fist. "The Lex Imperialis protects all of its citizens, but those that break it shall be judged by it. That is what is required to live in a peaceful time. Otherwise all that is left is the rule of the mighty against the weak."
Kandawire and Ophare themselves were victims of such barbarism. The old memories of gunfire, flame, and screams flashed past both of their eyes in that shared moment.
However, Ophar stepped forwards, putting a long spindly hand on Kandawire's shoulder.
"We could be seen as those same barbarians, using force to stamp upon a people already on the brink of dying of thirst." He said quietly.
Kandawire let out a bitter laugh.
"They came here willingly, just like you and I, Ophar. They came here when there were other cities to go to. Whether it was ambition, curiosity, or perhaps blind optimism that motivated them to come here matters not. They came here to make a life for themselves in the heart of the Imperium. But, that does not mean they can do as they please. They live in safety, reaping the boons of the Imperium's industries, and in return they must follow the Lex Imperialis. To take from a state while giving nothing back is the act of a thief or bandit."
The barbarians that sacked her home in the Banda Confederacy were also starving, but that gave them no right to do what they did to her family. What these rioters planned to do was no different.
"I need you to get to your contacts in the Masonic quarters, Ophar. I will head over to the sector to provide oversight of the Enforcers in charge of riot control."
"As you wish, kondedwa."
"DISPERSE! BY THE ORDER OF THE ARBITES THIS GATHERING IS ORDERED TO DISPERSE!"
Kandawire's brow furrowed as the loud speakers of one of the Arbitrators boomed. She was currently observing everything from the command Bulwark; a gigantic four wheeled van large enough to carry an entire squad of Enforcers. Giant flashing lumens illuminated the dim sector, while its sirens continued to blair its warning to the gathering crowd far in front of it. 3 more like it were parks in front of the one she was in, and 5 lines of Gunners and shield-bearing Subductors stood in front of the Bulwarks.
Kandawire clicked her tongue as she watched her Arbites from the various screens in the Bulwark.
"Keep your shields up and your power mauls off." She sent out the order through the general channel of the Arbites. "We're here to ensure the riot doesn't spread, not to incite it. Hold your positions as we attempt to de-escalate the situation."
"We've had no water for days!" One of the people in the crowd shouted out. "At least let us get to the neighboring sector! Their taps still run!"
"AID IS COMING! BE PATIENT! REPAIR TEAMS ARE WORKING TO RESTORE THE WATER AT THIS MOMENT!" The Arbitrator's speaker boomed. "THE FIRST BATCH OF AID WAS DELIVERED! A SECOND IS ON ITS WAY! REMAIN CALM AND RETURN TO YOUR HOMES!"
"Good." Kandawire said through the vox. "Keep reminding them that aid did come once. Do not aggravate them, but remain firm. We have to be a deterrent without being a threat."
"How much longer!" Someone screamed. "We haven't had anything to drink for 2 days!"
"RETURN TO YOUR HOMES! UNSANCTIONED GATHERINGS DELAY THE OPERATIONS OF THE IMPERIUM! AID WILL COME! RETURN TO YOUR HOMES! DISBAND THIS GATHERING!"
Kandawire let out a sigh as she watched the crowd and the Arbites on the megaphone shout at each other.
"They show no signs of dispersing Marshal." One of the Arbites monitoring the screens inside the Bulwark said to her.
"So long as they do not move forwards, it is fine." Kandawire snapped back. "This riot is caused by a failure of the state. It would be hypocrisy to inflict further harm on them. We are here to ensure the streets are clear and safe for the aid convoys when they come, and to keep the repair teams safe. That is all."
"Understood Marshal." The Arbites nodded.
Kandawire rubbed the bridge of her nose before returning to monitoring the situation. The standoff had been going on for a couple hours already, and tempers were beginning to fray. She had to continuously remind her troops of the de-escalation tactics she had brought with her in her attempts to improve relations between the Arbites and the populace.
'Governance by law requires consent by the governed.' She reminded herself as the shouting of the crowd continued. 'Otherwise, the Imperium wouldn't be much better than the tyrants and warlords in the wastes.'
She shook her head at that. The Imperium was definitely better than those places. It had laws; the Lex Imperialis. The wastes were governed mostly by force. On the surface, one could claim that the Imperium, which kept control of its provinces through martial might, was no better. However, the presence of laws set it apart from most other polities.
In the wastes, the only way to rectify a murder was to take revenge yourself.
Looting, rape, cannibalism, enslavement. All of these acts occurred on a daily basis. The tyrants and warlords did what they wanted with the people under them, and those in their favor were extended the same freedom.
'At least the Imperium has laws preventing that.' Kandawire thought to herself tiredly. 'All this shouting must have downed my spirits. I'm focussing too much on the failings of the Imperium. Whereas corruption is a thing here, at the very least it is deemed corruption, and not the norm.'
Whether it was a veneer or not, at the very least the concept of being culpable for breaking the Lex Imperialis existed. Officials and bureaucrats were occasionally punished by the policing branches of the Administratum, so things were better here than most places.
Kandawire let out a sigh as she turned back towards the monitors before her, then narrowed her eyes.
"Tighten the formations." She ordered. "They're coming."
Bit by bit the crowd had begun to approach the shield bearing Subductors. Whether it was their growing confidence with their numbers or the deepening thirst; they were inching forward to the shield wall that was blocking off the main street.
"Hold position. Lock your shields together, but keep your power mauls off." Kandawire said again. "Don't budge an inch from here. If we move back, we'll expose side streets for them to move through, allowing them to reach the neighboring sector. Hold firm. These people are a disorganized rabble; exhausted and dehydrated. Let them tire themselves out as they hit your shields. Second and third rows, make sure to support the first, and be ready to plug any holes in our formations."
Kandawire continued giving orders to her Arbites as the crowd continued to approach.
Suddenly, she saw a brown satchel fly from within the crowd.
KRAKOOOM!
The monitor flashed orange as an explosion wiped out part of the Subductor line.
"Gunners, get to the breach and open fire!" Kandawre shouted into the vox as the other command staff began issuing their own orders. "Webbers only! I want whoever threw that bomb alive! Subductors, activate power mauls! Charge! Charge!"
The air was filled with the crackle of electricity and fire as the remaining Subductors activated their weapons and charged into the crowd. Paralyzing bursts of blue sparks lashed out as they struck the men and women in front of them, who also seemed stunned by the sudden blast.
Gunners armed with non-lethal webbers converged to the hole in their formations, and fired adhesive nets in the direction the satchels had been thrown. The sticky strands glued men and women in the crowd together, causing them to trip and stumble, sticking them to the ground when they fell.
Kandawire stifled a growl as she glared at the monitors, watching as the flames from the explosive charred the remains of the dozen or so Arbites who had caught in the blast. Dozens more were lying on the ground, either knocked unconscious or killed by the concussive wave it had created. Chirurgants rushed to the front lines, carrying their white medical cases
Fire. Screams. Smoke. Shadows.
'Reminds me of that night.' She thought grimly.
Almost 30 years ago, Kandawire's home was pillaged by a cannibalistic techno-barbarian tribe called the zooipa. Her parents were in the upper middle class of the Banda Confederacy, but the guards they had hired were not enough when they came. She was 9 at the time. Their old servant Ophar had saved her, carrying her out of her home as the zooipa used their flame-bringers on it. Nobody else survived.
The sight of burning bodies brought back those blasted childhood memories.
"Drive them back, do not pursue." Kandawire ordered as she brought herself back to the present moment. Her Subductors were currently swinging their power mauls viciously, sending shocked convulsing bodies sprawling across the streets. "Once the crowd had been broken up, reform ranks and secure the street. Get me our Chasteners. I want interrogations to begin immediately. Someone brought or built that bomb. I want to know who, and how it was done!"
Kandawire stood in front of a kicked down doorway. Several hours had already passed since the riot, and the Chasteners had done their work. Several members of a Snatch-Squad in full plate power armor were around her while lower-ranked Troopers subdued the occupants of the abode in front of them. A woman could be heard screaming bloody murder at the Troopers, while several children and possibly an infant cried inside. The abode itself was one of many similar hab-blocks for workers given permission to live within the Imperial Palace; 3 rooms with a built in kitchenette and bathroom.
"There is no need for you to be here, Marshal." The Malocator of the Snatch-Squad said as they waited. "We already have the confessions from our chasteners, and once the physical evidence is collected we can carry out the sentence immediately."
"I am here to ensure the Lex Imperialis is obeyed." Kandawire growled back. "By all parties."
The Malocator's brows furrowed slightly. "Confessions have already been extracted. We are merely collecting and corroborating the hard evidence to confirm their statements. The Lex Imperialis allows for justice to be carried out by the Arbites on the ground under these conditions for capital offenses."
"We do things by the book." Kandawire said firmly. "You will not search without a warrant, and you will not interrogate without supervision or permission; my permission." The Marshal paused for a moment, then continued in a softer tone. "Tempers are running high, so I am here to ensure proper conduct is followed."
The Malocator made no reaction to the words, nor the tone. His voice remained cold as the metal of his power armor, face concealed by the tri-lensed face mask and respirator all trackers like him wore. "Is there suspicion of the Arbites abusing the Lex Imperialis?" He enquired.
"My presence here has nothing to do with suspicion." Kandawire snorted. "Oversight. Validation. Confirmation. All of them are necessary for a functional bureaucracy and fair treatment for all under the law."
The Malocator remained silent at this as they waited for the suppression of the house to finish. However, Kandawire could still sense his displeasure, even though the furrows in his brow were hidden by his mask. Tempers were running thin, meaning acts of retribution were highly likely. However, that was not the purpose of the law.
'Laws are for the people.' Kandawire thought to herself. 'They are the rules necessary to run this society, no matter how brittle it is.'
The Imperium was brittle in Kandawire's eyes. Its territories were unified by force, leaving much resentment in those conquered. The sudden change in culture also left many who lived off of the carnage and chaos of the warlords and tyrants a drift and bitter at having their livelihood taken away. Mercenaries, privateers, scavengers, and the more unscrupulous merchants were now forced to act as soldiers, laborers, and store clerks. These were menial jobs for men and women who once enjoyed the freedom to strike out on their own. Yet, the only other options were to live in the regions unconquered by the Imperium, or deep in the uninhabited wastes.
'The veneer of civility, plastered onto a populace who would have eaten each outside these walls.' Kandawire's eyes narrowed as the occupants of the abode were brought out. The only adult amongst the four had her arms bound behind her back with thick metal circlets connected by chains to a third on her neck. Aside from the woman, there were three children of ages 5 years, 3 years, and 3 months. The woman had sunburnt skin, covered with blotches and circular surgical scars where bulbous tumors had been. Fresh new teeth sat in worn gums next to older browner enamel in her mouth.
Medical treatment was another boon of living in the Imperium. Cancers and ailments that cut life expectancies down to 30 or 40 years were curable, and the treatments available to those who worked within the palace walls. Kandawire and Ophar had both received it, with Ophar in particular benefiting from gene-therapy that lengthened his already extensive life. It was another part of the give and take between state and citizen. Their labor and taxes were used by the state for such wellness programs to keep them healthy, allowing them in turn to work for longer and harder for the Imperium.
"Gulfin Ga'ella." The Malocator said as he dipped the needle end of his Bio-Sample Extractor into a cut on her upper arm. "Match confirmed." He nodded to himself, then turned to one of the forensic detectives who had come out of the house. "Evidence?" He asked, and the detective pressed a button on the wrist console of his power armor. A vid-log recorded from the headsets of both his and the other Arbites who had entered the house began to play as a 3D hologram before them.
"The components and remaining materials for the explosive device were discovered in the location provided by the confessions." The detective replied as the video accelerated to the point of discovery. A crying baby was lifted out of its crib, and the blankets pulled out of the way to reveal metal screws and plates, a vial of promethium, and several solid oxidizing agents in vacuum sealed plastics. The video continued, showing the detectives picking up fingerprints and DNA evidence from the materials with various scanners before returning the blankets and putting the entire crib into a folded up metal box used to secure evidence that unfurled itself from one of their pockets.
"Then the verdict is clear." The Malocator said grimly as he turned to the woman. "Gulfin Ga'ella…" He said as a servo-skull detached itself from his belt and began recording both his and the woman's face. "... for the crime of conspiracy to commit murder of public officials, possession of hazardous objects in dangerous conditions, the endangerment of minors under your care, and resisting arrest you are pronounced guilty prima facie. All evidence and statements collected from your fellow conspirators are hereby logged under casefile 001788710183. Furthermore, as the core motivation of your crimes results from the crime of procreating without a permit, the severity of your sentence will be further increased due to the nascent hazard you pose to all Imperial citizens. I hereby declare all lesser charges irrelevant in light of the danger you pose through your actions and inactions. Your name will be recorded upon the wall of judgment with your crimes. All possessions and capital will be forfeited to the state and used for restitution to those harmed by you."
The woman spat at the Malocator, sticky sputum splattering on the black metal of his boot; phlegm concentrated from the lack of water in her body.
"Was it so wrong to want a family?" She growled, voice hoarse from thirst and years of bad air she had breathed in before coming here. "I did what I had to do to get my children something to drink. All we wanted was a few hours with their taps, and you couldn't even allow us to do that?!" Her voice rose to a shrill shriek as she stood up on her knees, only to collapse on her own as the exertion drained what little energy she had. "Fine. Kill me. We'd all be dead in another day anyways. Dead from thirst when there's water running in the pipes of the next sector."
A bitter laugh exited the woman's lips as she turned to Kandawire, who was standing slightly behind the detectives surrounding her. "I guess the Emperor wanted slaves and servitors when he opened the doors to his palace. Why else would he bar us from even the simplest of human wants!"
"Fool." Kandawire found herself spitting the word out. "We are not in some utopia. We are in the midst of rebuilding a species that teetered on the brink of extinction." The faces of all the men who had been blown up by the bomb this woman and her conspirators had created flashed before her eyes as she spoke. "The Imperium merely asks for patience. Yet you disobeyed the simplest of rules for your own personal happiness. I lost 17 men. 17 men with families and people depending on them. They died because of your selfishness and impatience."
There was no reply from the woman. Instead, she shot back a withering look, showing just how little she had been moved by the Marshal's words.
"Continue with the sentencing." Kandawire ordered the detectives. "Ensure she gives back what she took from the Imperium."
The Malocator nodded once before turning back to the woman. "Gulfin Ga'ella, for the destruction of Imperial resources and the reduction in its operations you are hereby sentenced to servitor-conversion. Your body and mind will return what it took from the Imperium, paying for the death of its servants and recuperating the loss of its time. You will serve as a gun-servitor for the combined amount of service you took from the Imperium when you incapacitated its servants."
The color drained from the woman's face. She knew what that meant. She had seen the decrepit half-man half-machine automata at her work station. The blank looks on their faces. The painfully reddened flesh where metal met meat.
"No… NO!" She screamed, only to gag as one of the detectives grabbed her by her hair and began to drag her to a Bulwark.
"Careful." The Malocator cautioned his fellow Arbites. "Mind her legs, and do not break her bones. A walking gun-servitor can cover more ground than a stationary one."
Kandawire watched all of this with a disgusted expression. The woman had lost all her rights the moment her sentence had been read out. She was property now; raw materials to be remade to replace the Arbites she had played a part in murdering. Yet, seeing a woman dragged off by her hair reminded her too much of what the zooipa did to her home.
However, this was all within the limits of the Lex Imperialis. In its utilitarian manner; each punishment matched the crime. Every despicable act it ordered had its own depressing yet necessary function. Nothing would be wasted in the Imperium. Even criminals would serve, willingly or unwillingly, as part of the state.
"What do we do with the children, Marshal?" One of the detectives asked, turning Kandawire's attention from the woman being thrown into the back of the Bulwark. The three children were frozen with the marks of dried tears on their cheeks. Even the 3 month old infant did not make a sound, although that was probably more from the weakness of thirst rather than fear.
"It is out of our jurisdiction." Kandawire growled. "The Ordo Infantium will come to collect them, as all children incapable of being cared for are."
No sooner had the words left her mouth, a separate Bulwark pulled up behind them. The only marking it had was of a black oblong sphere with a light orange skull over a wicker basket at its center. Men and women in white robes stepped out of it and approached the children. Kandawire and the other Arbites stepped out of their way silently, barely acknowledging them as the robed Ordo Infantium smiled and approached the children. They spoke softly and kindly to the quivering 5 year old and 3 year old, then poured a cup of a sweet smelling beverage for them to drink.
Kandawire grit her teeth as she watched the children drink slowly, then fall asleep. The smiles faded from the men and women as they gently picked up the children and carried them back to their vehicle.
There was the creak of metal on metal, and the Marshal turned to the Malocator. His fists were balled up tightly, causing his fingers to scrape against his palms.
"Do you have a problem, Jasahn?" She asked softly.
"Apologies, Marshall." The Malocator said softly. "I was just imagining them doing the same thing to Garge's kids."
Kandawire let out a sigh. Garge was one of the Arbites fatally injured in the explosion. He was a single father. His wife had died while emigrating to the Imperium during a raider attack that assaulted the caravan they were traveling with.
"Children of public servants are enrolled in the Schola, should their carers lose the ability to look after them." She said softly. "You will be able to see them again after they graduate."
"If they graduate." The Malocator muttered quietly.
Kandawire pretended not to hear him.
Kandawire's chair creaked as she fell into it backwards. The riot had been broken up, and a second set of water aid had reached the sector. Work on repairing the infrastructure had started up again, but despite the good news her spirits were heavy.
10% of the hab-sector had been depopulated, either through thirst or crime. The 10 or so conspirators who had attempted to breach the Arbites' blockade of the sector with their bomb had all been apprehended, and a new investigation into who might have supplied them with the materials was underway. No doubt several more storeroom clerks and guards who were either inattentive or involved in the conspiracy would be found and brought to justice.
'But that doesn't explain the detonator…' Kandawire thought to herself.
They had found the ingredients for the explosive materials, and parts for the bomb casing. Yet, they had not found any components for the detonator.
'There were no traces within the bomb fragments, and there was another thing…'
All of those interrogated had participated in the bomb's construction, but each one only supplied components or assembled a part of it. At first, it seemed to be nothing special. The conspirators were a rag-tag bunch of workers and low-level clerks bundling their combined expertise to create something they couldn't on their own. However, when all of their statements and evidence was lined up, there was a gap in the bomb's construction. Each person thought someone else completed it, but upon closer investigation, no one had seen the completed bomb.
Kandawire's eyes narrowed as she looked over the available evidence again.
'This conspiracy may run deeper…' She thought to herself.
"Burning the mid-night oil again, kondedwa?" Ophar said as he entered her office.
Kandawire looked up to see her old servant walking through the doorway. The sun had gone down long ago, and only light available was the orange desk light she was using. The dimness of the room had allowed shadows to build up in the crooks of his overly long elbows, beneath his bulging eyes, and every wrinkle and crease of his clothes; giving him an even more gaunter horrific impression than usual. He already looked like a rag doll that had been enlarged and brought to life in the sunlight. Now, he looked like that same doll had emerged from the pits of hell to take small children from their beds.
"Tell me you found something." She said tiredly, used to seeing Ophar in the dark. Besides, she dealt with far more monstrous things as part of her job.
"I have." Ophar nodded, walking closer to Kandawire's desk. "At face value, today's incident appears to only be a fault of the citizenry. However, we both know that conspiracy is behind every incident within the Imperial Palace's walls."
"Very timely." Kandawire snorted as she turned one of her screens towards him with the beginnings of an evidence board. The word 'detonator' was circled in red and followed by several question marks. "What have you found?"
"Nothing direct." Ophar replied as he turned the lights on in the office. "Which is as always a blade that cuts both ways. Evidence collected illegally is still inadmissible under the Lex Imperialis."
"Which is why it is best to only find leads for an official investigation." Kandawire warned him.
Evidence collected by breaching the Lex Imperialis was inadmissible during judgment. It was a safeguard common in all law in order to ensure its purveyors protected it during their duties.
That did not mean Kandawire was ignorant of alternative ways to gather information. Although she herself could not go sneaking through the underside of the Imperium to discuss secrets with informants and streetwise scoundrels, her servant Ophar ensured she still had access to their stories. Such stories were the scent trail that led her to more concrete evidence. Of course, having Ophar only follow the faintest of trails ensured he was insignificant enough not to be killed. Kandawire had precious few friends to lose.
"I started by considering the motive for this series of events." Ophar said as he stood next to Kandawire. "Who would stand to gain the most from the "
"A dangerous line of thought." Kandawire snorted. "Assuming to know the intent of our criminal can lead to chasing false ends."
"For most other crimes, that would be true." Ophar shrugged. "However, for conspiracies within the Imperial Palace, the motives are mostly the same."
"Profit." Kandawire gave another snort. "Whether it be in the form of prestige, coin, or goods."
Ophar nodded before continuing.
"The beginnings of this entire series of events starts with overpopulation. That is the core issue. Whether intentionally or through incompetence, someone allowed this issue to grow."
"Then which of the Imperium's governing bodies do you believe is at fault?" Kandawire asked with a raised eyebrow. "The Arbites would be the best group to have identified the issue. We are the ones with boots on the ground."
"But it was not us." Ophar shook his head.
Kandawire gave a short snort. "No it wasn't. We couldn't identify the increase in population. The majority of the extra population was children. Their parents hid them inside their homes, raising them in secret. Without a warrant, no Arbites can arbitrarily inspect habitations."
"That leaves the Ordo Opera Publica in charge of the Palace's infrastructure, the Ordo Censere in charge of collecting various statistics regarding the Palace and its inhabitants, and the Ordo Relinquo in charge of providing living permits."
Kandawire's eyes narrowed as the other suspects were brought up. "The Ordo Censere is the least likely to have noticed. Much of their information is taken from other Administratum records, and more grounded census takers would not have been able to investigate for long enough to find the children. They only go door to door, after all. The Ordo Opera Publica would also be an unlikely perpetrator. They may seem the most complicit with the failure of the water supply this time, but the children were fed and watered within their parents rations. They may have noticed had they grown, but things were still within the margin of error. Possible culpability, but very faint."
"Which leaves the Ordo Relinquo." Ophar said quietly. "Living permits are not once off things, and require semi-regular inspections to confirm their work requirements and health checks are passed. They would have noticed the pregnancy, if not the children themselves during those inspections."
"I don't see an obvious motive." Kandawire grimaced. "As you say, living permits are accompanied by routine inspections, but that is because those who provide the permits are incentivized to find individuals who will succeed in those given roles. Their compensation is tied to the performance and productivity of those receiving the permit. Allowing unregistered children to be born would prevent the parents from receiving state aid, and in turn put extra stress on them. That would lead to a reduction of worker productivity, and in turn a reduction in permit provider compensation."
"And if there were other benefits for providing the living permits to other individuals?"
Kandawire raised an eyebrow at this, then sighed. "A rational actor would find the appreciating nature of a permit the safer investment, but rationality is not a trait I expect from anyone these days. What have you found?"
Ophar reached into his right sleeve, and there was a soft click of a data card exiting a hidden port.
"Work crews in the sector have seen new members with medical scars and sutures upon their bodies." He said as he handed over the almost fingernail sized card to Kandawire.
"A common enough occurrence within these walls. Medical treatment is one of the first benefits to entering the Imperial Palace." Kandawire sniffed as she inserted into a different data slate, fully isolated from any network. "We both had our share of tumors and cysts excised from our bodies when we were first let in here."
"Indeed, it is a common enough occurrence." Ophar nodded. "However, the location of these has a certain commonality to them."
"Which is?" Kandawire asked back as her eyes narrowed. Lists of names were appearing, and she had recognized several from the riot earlier today.
"They appear in the places you would expect augmetics to have been."
"I see…" Kandawire said as she looked through Ophar's notes.
Sutures around eye sockets and the skull where tactical readers and cogitating augmetics might have been.
Frankenstein patchworks of freshly grafted skin on arms and legs where subdermal crystal Electoos could have been placed.
Dissonant mixes of old scars surrounding the joints of new low-grade bionics on workers who seemed unused to their artificial limbs.
"Do we have names?" Kandawire asked as her eyes narrowed.
"Of the lower lord who offered all of these permits?" Ophar said as he reached into his right sleeve again. "Here." A roll of tightly bound and dense parchment appeared from the sleeve.
Kandawire took it from him, and swayed slightly as the weight of the scroll-like object fully transferred itself to her hand. This was no ordinary paper. It was far tougher and denser than the mass-produced pulp products she was used to receiving and using. This came from someone privileged.
The Marshal pulled the scroll open roughly, confident that whatever it was made of would resist the force she used.
"Get in contact with the Administratum's Master of Records." She said as she looked over the list of names. "Check all the permits given and find out where the permittees are. If this lord is after augmetics, there is a possibility today's riot may not be the last."
"And what will you do kondedwa?" Ophar asked cautiously.
"I'll draft a request for an audience." The Marshal said, allowing the scroll to roll shut before sealing in one of the lockable drawers at her desk. "Several of those permitted to enter the Imperial Palace caused the death of my Arbites. At the very least, I can demand a preventative action plan to avoid such situations." She pulled out an auto-quill and selected the relevant templates necessary, before setting it loose on a fresh bit of parchment. The small hand shaped device bobbed up and down in the air before it began scratching out the audience request in black ink. "I'll buy us time while you look into the records. He won't be able to move while I'm in front of him, and even after I've left his attention will be focussed on myself and the Arbites." Kandawire said as she began pulling out her official robes and sashes. "I'm not letting today repeat itself."