V3 Chapter 107: Guilliman's Out?
The black chapel's doors opened slowly, and Duvette walked out under the protection of the thirteen Shadow Wolves of Luna. Four Shadow Wolves walked at the front, while the rest held the flanks and rear, keeping Duvette, Fidicus, and the two Lord Inquisitors shielded at the centre.
The entire block outside the chapel had already been sealed off completely. Hundreds of Adeptus Arbites Arbitrators in dark carapace armour occupied the road ahead, and the several dozen closest to the chapel had locked their riot shields together into a wall spanning the width of the street.
Combat shotguns extended through firing ports in the shields, every muzzle trained on the chapel doors. Behind the shield wall stood several Adeptus Arbites Rhinos and riot-control armoured vehicles, their roof-mounted weapons slowly tracking Duvette's group as they moved.
More Arbitrators were positioned along both sides of the road, heavy bolters and autocannons already set up and ready. Squads carrying melta weapons were hidden among the armoured vehicles, waiting only for the order from the officer in command on site.
Behind the Adeptus Arbites cordon, more than a hundred Lucifer Blacks stood arrayed in tight formation. The lasguns in their hands were held level, their heavy-weapons squads already deployed, and a jet-black banner hung at the centre of their ranks, stirring faintly in the purifying air currents.
These elite Palace guardians made no further advance toward the chapel. They held the main road, weapons trained on Duvette's group, waiting on a formal order that would authorise them to open fire on a Primarch's own retinue.
Farther off, white-robed Palatine Sentinels looked down over the street from raised platforms and connecting walkways between buildings. Their gold-trimmed armour caught the glare of the searchlights, and marksmen and heavy-weapon operators had taken up every major vantage point around the chapel.
Three Valkyrie gunships circled along their designated flight path above the cordon, the weapon pods slung beneath their wings kept angled toward the ground the entire time. Great numbers of surveillance servo-skulls moved between the assembled forces, relaying the scene live to the Adeptus Arbites, the Palace garrison command, and, farther still, to the High Lords' own residences.
Duvette stopped before the chapel doors, his gaze sweeping across the shield wall ahead before flicking up to the Valkyries overhead. Dense clusters of red dots covered the surrounding blocks on the strategic map, each marker representing a target that had already turned unmistakably hostile toward him.
"Quite the show of force, isn't it?"
Duvette turned to look at Fidicus, standing beside him. The Grand Master of the Assassinorum still showed no expression at all, his black eyes fixed on the Adeptus Arbites formation ahead, as though he'd already expected exactly this.
Duvette led Fidicus forward a few more steps, and the Shadow Wolves shifted formation accordingly, keeping the group within a range they could reinforce instantly if needed. Juno and Heinz fell in from either side; Heinz, responsible for carrying the evidence, kept the sealed container fastened firmly to his own wrist.
Juno stepped forward and drew out her Inquisitorial seal. The moment it activated, the crimson mark of the Inquisitorial Tribunal appeared in the air above them, and a portion of the Arbitrators behind the shield wall visibly hesitated.
"An investigation under the Inquisitorial Tribunal's highest authority is currently underway here."
Juno's voice carried across the street through an amplification device. She swept her gaze across the Adeptus Arbites formation ahead, the seal's projected red light falling across her eye-patched face.
"Grand Master of the Assassinorum Fidicus has voluntarily submitted to the Inquisitorial Tribunal's protective custody. All related evidence is held jointly by the two Lord Inquisitors present. Any attempt to seize the witness or the evidence will be treated as obstruction of an Inquisitorial Tribunal investigation."
Fidicus stepped forward at once, and his voice patched into the Silent House's external comm system, reaching every commanding officer present on their own channel.
"Everything Lord Inquisitor Juno has said is true. I have handed the original records of this assassination operation over to the Inquisitorial Tribunal's keeping. Until Roboute Guilliman renders his judgment, no one is to seize those records."
Fidicus paused, then went on. "My vital signs are linked to the sensor-triggered bomb inside me. If I die before the device is disarmed, this entire area will be levelled. Before any of you gives the order to open fire, you'd best think through the consequences first."
A faint stir passed through the ranks opposite them. Several Adeptus Arbites officers began confirming the situation over their comm channels. The Lucifer Blacks held their positions unchanged, and the Palatine Sentinels made no move to shift their firing positions either.
Just then, a gap split open at the centre of the Adeptus Arbites shield wall. A judge stepped out from the ranks, wrapped in a heavy ballistic cloak, his helmet set with a gilded scale and a law-code plaque, several aides following behind him. He stopped several dozen metres from Duvette's group.
"I am Judge Corvinus, directly attached to the Terran Adeptus Arbites. I take command of this site under the Grand Provost Marshal's order."
His voice carried through the street via his helmet's vox-amplifier. The judge glanced first at Juno's Inquisitorial seal, then let his gaze settle on Duvette and the thirteen Shadow Wolves of Luna.
"Duvette Erdmann, and the thirteen Astartes whose identities remain unverified, are to disarm immediately and submit to Adeptus Arbites custody. The two Lord Inquisitors are to hand over the relevant evidence and withdraw from the cordon."
The judge raised his right hand, and the muzzles behind the Adeptus Arbites shield wall rose in answer.
"Should the detention targets continue to offer armed resistance, the Adeptus Arbites is authorised to employ lethal force. Lay down your weapons immediately, and submit to arrest!"
Markus was first to throw off the black cloak covering his body, his white power armour coming into full view before everyone present. He raised his bolter, locking it onto the judge, and the other twelve Shadow Wolves moved into action in the same instant.
Two of the Shadow Wolves turned to sight the Valkyrie gunships overhead, while several others locked onto the heavy-weapon emplacements along either side of the road. The rest closed in around Duvette's group, training their weapons on the Adeptus Arbites shield wall directly ahead.
Target alarms sounded one after another through the Adeptus Arbites ranks, and the Lucifer Blacks switched their weapons' safeties to combat-ready. High above, the Palatine Sentinels recalibrated their aim, and several red laser dots settled onto the Shadow Wolves' power armour.
Duvette watched the situation unfold, and a faint smile crossed his face instead of anything else. He turned to Fidicus, his tone carrying open, undisguised mockery.
"Doesn't seem like your colleagues care much whether you live or die." Duvette said. "Might even suit them better if you died right here. A dead man, after all, can't explain to Guilliman exactly who altered that order."
Fidicus watched the judge in silence, his face still betraying nothing. No one understood better than he did that if he died in this confrontation, Cimotrion and the others could shift the bulk of the blame onto the Assassinorum alone.
Both sides finished locking their weapons on, and the three Valkyrie gunships released their own weapon safeties as well. Duvette's right hand closed around the Blade of Glory, and the red dots on the strategic map began converging on their position fast.
Just as the tension in the air kept climbing, the judge suddenly pressed a hand to the comm-bead at his ear. His motion froze mid-air, as though he'd heard something entirely unexpected.
The judge confirmed the order twice under his breath, then raised his head to look at Duvette, and glanced once more at Fidicus standing beside him. Several seconds later, he slowly waved a hand back toward his own ranks.
Behind the Adeptus Arbites wall, the Arbitrators began lowering their weapons, and the vehicles' roof-mounted guns stopped tracking. The Lucifer Blacks were first to reset their safeties, and the Palatine Sentinels above soon released their firing locks as well.
The strategic map in Duvette's mind shifted along with it, the hundreds of red dots covering the surrounding blocks turning rapidly to yellow, and the hostile markers that had been closing in all came to a stop exactly where they stood.
Just then, a top-priority transmission reached Juno's comm-bead. She listened for a moment, then gave a nod of her own.
"Who is it?" Duvette asked.
"Chancellor of the Imperial Council, Lev Tyrion."
Juno looked up at Duvette, and slowly relayed what he'd told her.
"Guilliman's out."
Less than six hours after the Primarch had passed through the Eternity Gate, his audience with the Emperor had already ended. Far sooner than anyone had expected.
"The first order he gave was for you to return to the Eternity Gate immediately." Juno went on. "Bring Fidicus, the two of us, and all the evidence you've gathered. No unit within the Palace is to obstruct you."
Duvette fell silent for a moment. Guilliman was out already? Why so fast? Had his own skill somehow sped up the exchange between father and son?
Well, now. He didn't dwell on it any further, and instead turned back to the judge still standing before the Adeptus Arbites shield wall. He slung the Blade of Glory over his shoulder, and the smile returned to his face.
"Still planning to arrest us?"
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