Chapter 339: The Assignment, Part II
The next day, the fleet translated out of the Warp, emerging right on schedule near Planet 495.
After another half-day of realspace travel, the fleet settled into low orbit.
Kian, leading the mission, loaded his retainers onto a shuttlecraft and headed for the surface.
He sat in the co-pilot's seat, watching the view outside.
Planet 495's level of industrialisation was leagues beyond the agri-world. Massive orbital stations hung in low orbit, bristling with warship-grade gun emplacements. Spacecraft moved in steady streams between the stations, ferrying cargo.
Compared to this, Agri-World Secundus-496b looked like a backwater village.
Guided by traffic control from the station and the surface Hive, the shuttlecraft descended toward an atmospheric landing pad.
Ten minutes of flight, a brief shudder as they punched through the atmosphere, and the shuttle touched down on the upper tier of Planet 495's hive city.
The ramp dropped. Kian led his retainers out, and waiting for them was a Planetary Governor so fat he was practically spherical, flanked by the local nobility.
The Governor waddled forward with an ingratiating smile, then paused when he got a look at Kian.
"Forgive me, my lord, but I'm afraid I don't recognise you. Might I ask who you are? And... is Inquisitor Trasolh not with you?"
Kian fixed him with a bull-eyed glare.
"What, I'm not important enough to visit you?"
"No no no! My lord, you misunderstand! You misunderstand entirely!
It's simply that it's been so long since we've seen Inquisitor Trasolh — we miss him terribly! Terribly!"
The Governor was already mopping his brow. An Inquisitor held the power of life and death over men like him.
Even someone in the Inquisitor's entourage was dangerous to offend. One wrong word, one bad report, and divine judgement might descend at any moment.
Best not to provoke. Best not to provoke at all.
Kian let out a cold snort and swaggered forward.
"I've been flying through the void for two weeks and my mouth tastes like recycled nothing. Governor, please tell me you've prepared a banquet."
"But of course! Right this way, my lord! Right this way!"
The Governor and his nobles scrambled to lead the way, ushering Kian toward the banquet hall.
This was the power of the Rosette. Kian wasn't the Inquisitor himself, but the seal dangling from his sword pommel was enough to make the most powerful people on an entire planet fall over themselves to escort him.
The procession swept into the Governor's banquet hall. Kian was seated at the head of the table, his retainers beside him, then the Governor and local nobility filling in the rest.
Everyone took their places. The table was laden with exquisite dishes.
But Kian wasn't looking at the food. He was looking at the Governor and the assembled nobles. And the words that came out of his mouth nearly gave them collective cardiac arrest.
"I've heard... that you're all planning to rebel."
Clatter.
The Governor had been raising his glass for a toast. It slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.
Kian's eyes lit up.
"Oh ho! Confirmed!
You just smashed your cup as a signal to summon a hundred and fifty power-axe executioners to hack us into mincemeat, so you can raise the banner of revolt, overthrow the Emperor, and seize the throne!!"
"No no no! Nothing of the sort! Nothing of the sort!"
The Governor was vibrating with terror, words tumbling over each other in frantic denial.
"My lord! I harbour absolutely no traitorous intentions! We are all loyal subjects! The most loyal of loyal subjects!
And besides, look — the cup smashed and no power-axe executioners came rushing in, did they?!"
Kian waited a few seconds. Indeed, no executioners appeared to hack him into mincemeat. He nodded.
"Very well. That was a test of your loyalty to the Imperium.
It appears you are all loyal subjects. The most loyal of loyal subjects!"
The Governor and his nobles exhaled as one. Just a test. They'd thought the Inquisitor's envoy was manufacturing a pretext to have them all purged.
As the tension ebbed, Kian picked up his knife and fork and began cutting into a slab of roasted meat. Between slices, he asked casually:
"Tell me, Governor — do you read much in your spare time?"
The Governor studied Kian's expression with extreme caution before answering:
"My lord, I spend my leisure hours studying the Holy Scriptures. I devote myself to the Emperor's own teachings, using His words to guide my conduct and safeguard His domain."
A textbook answer. The Governor was confident the envoy couldn't possibly find fault with that.
But the man across the table was Kian Voss. The Great Demon King of interrogation.
Kian set down his cutlery and slammed the table.
"How dare you! The Emperor's will is unfathomable by design! And you have the audacity to study His teachings?!
What exactly are your intentions, you schemer?!
Don't tell me... you're trying to divine the Emperor's behaviour so you can pick the perfect moment to revolt!!"
The Governor flinched so hard he nearly left his chair. His fleshy forehead was drenched.
"My lord — a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!
I read only to receive the Emperor's wisdom! I would never dare interpret His holy intent! Never, never dare!"
Kian arched an eyebrow.
"You're truly only listening to His teachings?"
The Governor's head bobbed frantically.
"Yes yes yes! Only listening! Only listening to His teachings!"
"Hm. I see..."
Kian picked up his cutlery and returned to his meal. The nobles collectively exhaled again.
Kian speared a piece of meat on his fork, held it up, and twirled it before the table.
"This meat is remarkably tender. What is it?"
The Governor answered with painstaking care: "My lord, it's a local species of lizard called a stone dragon. The meat is extraordinarily flavourful, highly nutritious, and rich in protein. A true delicacy."
Kian heard this and erupted. Another thunderous slam of the table.
"A dragon?! The dragon is a symbol of imperial sovereignty! There is only one Emperor in this Imperium, and that is His Divine Majesty!
You openly consume dragon meat — that is open defiance of the Emperor! And you dare claim you harbour no treasonous intent!"
Kian shot to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at the stunned nobles.
"I am calling Inquisitor Trasolh immediately! His fleet will open fire and reduce this nest of traitors to atoms!!"
"Please, my lord! You mustn't!! You mustn't!!"
The nobles dissolved into panic, each one convinced they were about to die.
The Governor very nearly dropped to his knees, stammering:
"M-my lord, we truly have no rebellious intentions! We are the Imperium's most loyal and faithful servants! Please — tell us — what must we do to prove our loyalty?!"
Kian's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Oh? You want to prove it?"
The Governor was on the verge of tears.
"Yes yes yes! We want to prove it! We want to prove we are the Imperium's most loyal and faithful servants!"
A smile spread across Kian's face.
"Well then. Since you insist..."
A few days later, a Sword-class frigate, four 1.5-kilometre Warp-capable cargo haulers loaded to capacity with two thousand Chimera transports, and four hundred thousand freshly reorganised Astra Militarum soldiers joined Inquisitor Trasolh's fleet.
Kian returned to the flagship bridge. Under the gaze of Inquisitor Trasolh and his entire staff, he flashed a peace sign.
"Mission complete. With interest."
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