Brigitta Al'Anoud, Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, cleared her mind with practised ease as the vessel completed its transition back into real space. It had been a smooth journey so far, which, while good, wasn't surprising as they'd been using the major warp lanes, reducing the risks.
Looking at the holo-augurs, it displayed the solar system out in front of them. Hundreds, maybe thousands of ships moved through the system, travelling from planet to planet. At the heart of it was the hive world Gravis Prime, a dead world with sprawling cities covering most of its surface.
The other planets were mining or agri worlds used to help support the monstrous population of the hive world. Interestingly, according to her reports, two of the agri planets were Knight worlds, which was rare, but not that unusual. Forge worlds and Knight worlds had always had a symbiotic relationship, so being within space travel of the forge world Stratix, made these worlds a prime spot. Knight and Forge worlds had a long history of each supporting the other, dating back before the Great Crusade.
Speaking of. Brigitta watched a huge freighter, dwarfing the size of her ship many times, fly into the system, aggressively decelerating as it did. It had likely been doing that for years, as it had come from Stratix, the iconography of the Adeptus Mechanicus displayed proudly on its side, giving it away.
It was a journey that would take decades to make at sub-light speeds, but with cryogenics, that was a small price to pay to have a constant supply of goods and materials. It could have come from any of the clustered planets of the sector, an anomaly as they were all grouped close enough to travel by sub-light speeds, even if it was slow. If she so chose and jumped a few lightyears towards any of the planets, she would find dozens of other such ships making their way to and from the hive and forge world.
She turned from the viewing port. "Report."
"Successful transition. No reported problems." Magos Occularis Secundus said.
Nodding at him, she turned to Enos. "How are we looking?"
"Well within reasonable bounds. The star maps match. We are in the Gravis Expanse, and the Gravis Prime is dead ahead. 3 days out."
"Good, congratulate the crew."
"Will do my lady."
Now, the question that she always dreaded. "How many years?" You could never tell how long had passed until you exited the warp. It could be one year or thousands. There was no way to know.
"We have been blessed with a smooth journey, only taking us 20 years."
"That is good to hear. Thank you, Captain." Good, she hoped that would be the case; the last thing she wanted was to be stuck in the warp and have centuries pass, missing out on her chance at the Ex-inquisitor Domikio.
Brigitta was just preparing to leave the bridge when Horatius on the sensor station reported. "Picking up the Rosetta code of Inquisitor Elion Mardus."
"What?" she said sharply.
"We are too far out for our sensors to give us an accurate reading, but it seems to be real."
Nodding in silence, she almost growled. If Elion had killed her chances at Domikio, heads would roll. Still, Elion was a reasonable enough Inquisitor in her few dealings with him. He was part of Ordo Machinum, focusing his efforts on the Adeptus Mechanicus, so not someone she had much interaction with. But he had been part of a few cabals over the years.
"Set a course for Gravis Prime and don't use my code, use one of our decoy ones."
"Yes milady."
"Also, please inform Justicar Demiz that we have reached our destination."
"Yes Inquisitor."
As she made her way back to her quarters, she felt the change in pitch of the engines as they accelerated. She was impatient, but they would need to be much closer before they started to get reports from her agents.
They wouldn't have access to an astropathic choir, unlike some of her agents, whose recent report made her grimace. Paulis III moving the Ecclesiarchy back to Terra after all these years. She shuddered at the wasted resources it would take to move the behemoth organisation halfway across the galaxy.
She was still thankful for the up-to-date information. Her choir was better than most, which it should be with the amount of favours it cost her to get her current group. Well worth it, they were some of the best of their cohort, not to mention the xeno artefacts she had helping enhance them further.
But the information she had on the Ecclesiarchy told her they had the resources for it. Their time away from Terra had been good for them. Time would tell if it was a good move; she somehow doubted the other organisations on Terra would welcome them home.
Especially the Administorum, who was the main reason for the church of the Saviour Emperor to move in the first place. Their deposition is unlikely to have changed in the intervening time. Their current leader, Goge Vandire, least of all. If any of the concerning rumours about him were true, it painted a dark picture.
But it wasn't her place; there were other checks and balances. What was the worst that could happen?
Pushing it from her mind, she settled into her meditation chamber, cleansing herself of thoughts and activating the chamber's warding sigils. Then she dived into her mind, checking her psychic shields, mental constructs she had cultivated over centuries for flaws or weaknesses.
Next came her ritual, her private chant strengthening herself, not just in belief but in purpose. Reminding herself why she did this and then purging unhelpful thoughts, feelings or emotions. Burned away by the cleansing fire of the Emperor's light.
---
They were a day out when they finally started to receive reports, both from the planet and her agents. Calling for a meeting, she invited Justicar Demiz as a courtesy, which he accepted, surprising her. That took a bit of planning, again, to keep as much of her crew from getting mind-wiped as possible.
They were loyal to her, so she might be able to argue there was no need, but why risk it when there was no need to?
Once they were all gathered, she nodded to Luthen-8. "What have you found?"
"All reports indicate that Domikio Nyxor-Poth is still in the system. There are rising chaos cults across the solar system, which the governor is trying to cover up. All the uprisings have been put down with ease, leading me to believe they are mere distractions."
"Good, and my agents?"
"Have narrowed it down to a cluster of hives with the most likely amongst them of Noxium. It is one of the more powerful of the clusters, on the smaller side, with only 10 billion reported people. But it has access to forges and manafacorums near forge worlds in capability, so it can produce advanced components far greater than is the norm."
"Good, Captain…"
Looking up from the data slate in his hand. "The shuttles are being prepped as we speak, and I have relayed the orders to enter orbit above the hive."
"Thank you. Anything on Inquisitor Mardus?"
Luthen-8 looked off into the distance as he looked through all the data stored in his memory banks. "Not much, but it appears his presence here is a coincidence. From what your agents have managed to gather, he is here due to a large event. Something they are calling a Tidefall. But what that is, they don't say."
"At least he hasn't scared off our mark. We will get to the bottom of it in person. Rhassia, do we know anything about the situation?"
She leaned back in her chair, a spinning pen in her hand. "Not much, just the governor is dying. He was trying to hide it, but everyone knows now. It's a free-for-all."
"Why hasn't it been put a stop to?"
"There has been no need. The tithes are still collected and sent, so no reason to step in. It has been close, when several ships fought and almost destroyed a mining colony."
Of course. The Imperium left most plants to manage themselves. Only if they were affected, like the tithes, did they get involved. Entire world wars had been fought for decades, and still, the Imperium hadn't gotten involved.
"Apart from that, why is his dying significant?" Death was a constant, even for nobles.
"Because it happened suddenly and hundreds of years before he should. His faction was caught unprepared."
A stick-thin woman with large bionic eyes leaned forward, drawing attention to herself. Seraphine was her silent support, her spy master. Never seen, but her actions were always felt.
She rarely spoke, so when she did, it was worth listening to.
"More than that. It was out of nowhere. I have his medical reports, and one day he was healthy, the next on his deathbed."
"You think enemy action?"
"I do."
"Keep an eye on it, but for now, it doesn't affect our mission."
"Yes Inquisitor. We will have an agent show you around when you make landfall. They are well connected to the nobles, so should be able to get us access to where we need."
"And do we have any idea where that might be?"
"Not fully, but the only time the skull artefacts were found was in the underhive of Noxium. So that is the best place to look."
"Have our agents not managed to narrow it down?" Brigitta asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"No. It is proving even harder now."
"Explain."
"The war. It is all encompassing, from gangs to nobles."
"Is that going to get in our way?"
"Surprisingly not, at least not at first. The area we want to investigate belongs to a gang named the Midnight Court. We have several agents within it, and they describe it more like a disciplined military than an underhive gang. It is through them we gain most of our information."
"How good is that information then?"
"Very, the best in fact. At least for their cluster. We are still not 100% sure how, but they have the largest information network in all three hives."
"Very well, we will make landfall and decide from there. Are the troops ready Hal?" She asked the leader of her kill team.
Sergeant Hal Bronn was a well-built man, broad-shouldered, solid and scarred running the left side of his face. He was formerly from the Kasrkin, an elite troop from Cadia. They were a little-known troop, but she had seen them fight. As a veteran of that unit, she had little doubt he was one of the best fighters in the galaxy. She knew in time, they would gain recognition, but for now, it was perfect for her. Able to get some of the best troops with little contest.
He had impressed her and had risen through the ranks of her retinue to where he was today. In charge of the fifty-seven elite troops she possessed, normally broken down into 12-man squads and acting as kill teams. In this case, she would need them all. They were her hammer, while her eight guards, led by Garran Drest, were her shield.
"Yes, we are ready."
"Good. I also want the normal people to join me. Justicar Demiz, how would you like this operation managed?" She asked, turning to the giant space marine still clad in full Terminator armour.
"We will remain on board and teleport down when more concrete intelligence is found. I will provide you with a targeting beacon on the off chance we do not have accurate targeting data."
She nodded her head. "Very well. Thank you."
"Is there anything else that needs bringing up?"
"Just that there may be a Pariah down there." Luthen-8 said.
"Really?" the inquisitor said, surprised. It was incredibly rare to find one. Even breeding programmes weren't perfect and not guaranteed to gain you any.
"Yes, it isn't confirmed, but all signs point to it."
"Get me a report, I will read it later."
"Yes inquisitor."
"Thank you all. Dismissed."
---
The shuttle shuddered, the underside of the vessel lighting up as they entered the atmosphere at speed. The gun-cutter had served her well and had been heavily modified in its service. The light dimmed from outside as they entered the shadow of the great space station in geosynchronous orbit above the hive cluster.
It was a mighty thing, almost a hundred kilometres across, littered with massive docking arms, to accommodate the constant traffic of freighters bringing and taking goods. While space stations of its size were not a rarity in the Imperium, the orbital space elevator was. Left over from the dark age of technology, it was heavily locked down, both by the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Administrartus.
Both organisations designating it as of crucial importance. In fact, it was almost the largest station in the solar system, only dwarfed by the station above the capital. Built by the Ecclesiarchy, which was effectively a massive floating cathedral.
The station faded from view, but below them sprawled the hive cities, thousands of kilometres of dense urban sprawl. Ignoring the other traffic, limited as it was, her pilot guided them to the spire of Hive Noxium. As they landed, she could see the procession waiting for her.
She felt her mouth curl in disgust. Sycophants. She had kept her credentials quiet on the approach, not wanting to give her target the chance to flee, but as they arrived at the station where her ship was now docked, she had no choice but to use her Rosetta.
Which led to the dozens of nobles, servants, administrators, guild masters and generals waiting for her. All dressed up in their best, which she frankly found eye-watering. A radical change from her youth, when she used to like dressing up much like the nobles around her. Now it just set her teeth on edge. She braced herself as she stepped off the shuttle onto the private spaceport high in the spire.
As soon as she did, the noise hit her. Not just the conversations springing up around her, but also the noise of the factories far below or the two other shuttles landing, disgorged the last of her retinue. She knew they cast an intimidating sight, part of the reason she had chosen that particular variant of armour.
But it would never get old watching the puffed-up nobles falter as they caught sight of her retinue advancing towards them. That hint of doubt. Were they there for them?
Ignoring them, she cast her senses out, trying to detect anything, even a hint of chaos corruption amongst them. It would have been bold, but she had found some stupid enough to do so in the past. Her death would follow shortly after she became even slightly less cautious.
She let Rhassia move forward, greeting nobles, greasing the wheels as it were. It paid to be diplomatic, for now at least. When things started to move, she would demand, and they would listen lest they be executed. But she would leave them with the illusion of power and status for now.
Greeting the few Rhassia indicated as important, she eventually escaped with her retinue in tow. As they stepped out of the space dock into the upper spire proper, they met one of her agents by the blast doors.
As they approached, the older man bowed. "Lady Inquisitor. I'm Tavian, a scribe of Arbiters. It is my pleasure to guide you. Please this way."
With that said and a nod from her, he led them through the grandiose hallways, each meticulously decorated with house crests, historical events or the symbols of the Ecclesiarchy. Pausing, she looked out one of the many high arched windows, looking down onto the rest of the hive city below, most of it obscured by an ever-present smog or this high up, cloud.
They were in the central spire, the highest and largest of the hive; only the wealthiest and most powerful could live here. Off in the distance, there were other spires, but none as grand as the one she was on. Carrying on, they walked past all sorts, from fountains to beautiful, cared-for gardens. Grand cathedrals to large theatres. All of it caked in gold and marble.
They were finally led to a spacious lounge, tastefully decorated, but still with the ever-present sycophants. As they stepped in, a voice called from the generous balcony. "Inquisitor Brigitta. What a pleasure." Through the deep purple curtains, a soft androgynous looking man appeared. Clad in flowing robes, a beaker of wine in his hand, he looked very at home with the nobles around him.
What set him apart was the lack of any obvious bionics. Purely flesh and blood.
"Inquisitor Elion Mardus." she greeted him with a small dip of her head.
"Leave us." he said suddenly, his voice surprisingly strong.
Those not already leaving scrambled to exit the room. Even the servants serving drinks or amuse-bouche scurried out of the room, until all that was left were them and their retinues.
"So, what brings you to this corner of the galaxy?" Inquisitor Elion asked. "Not the same reason as myself, I hope." His voice was back to its soft whisper that somehow still filled the room. No matter how he looked or acted, he was still an Inquisitor, and none reached their status by accident.
"I'm here for a heretic." Brigitta replied, keeping it brief. He had no reason to know, and even if he did, she doubted she would tell. Inquisitors were supposedly on the same side, but as with all structures in the Imperium, it was never that simple. Best to keep it sparse of detail where possible.
"That's a relief then, not here for the same reason as me. For a horrible moment, I thought I'd gotten involved in something bigger." He finished with a high-pitched giggle, setting her teeth on edge. She knew he did it deliberately, something he started when he was still part of his mentor's retinue before being raised to full Inquisitor.
"And what is that?"
"My little birdies told more of a large expedition being formed."
"Expedition?"
"Yes, the Magos Viel Nox has organised one to dive deep into the hive. I thought it best to tag along." That explained it or was enough for her. He was part of the Ordo Machinum, which was a smaller faction within the Inquisitors, one of many. But this one focused its attention on Adeptus Mechanicus, overseeing it as best they could. A hard job, as the Adeptus Mechanicus were not strictly part of the Imperium of Man, only its close ally.
Something few liked to think about.
Not that they could leave now, even if they wanted to, both empires were far too intertwined.
Their missions often saw them accompanying Mechanicus archaeological teams to distant worlds, monitoring their recovery and analysis of STCs. So, it was notable that he was here in this hive world. Was this what Domikio was after? STCs? It seemed unlikely, but it was a possibility.
"When is this likely to take place?"
"You've arrived rather perfectly. It should happen any day now. I am just looking to organise a guide." He paused here, head cocked. "In fact, he might be arriving now."
Reminding her that, for all he looked like flesh and blood, he was far from it. His roots as a tech priest saw to that. But unlike many of his peers, he was part of a small sect called Biologis Puritans. The sect is at odds with the vast majority of the Adeptus Mechanicus, with the belief in maintaining or respecting the human form as divinely inspired by the Omnissiah.
She could feel what he was referring to as several people were walking rapidly to the room. He had barely finished speaking before five entered. At the front was a huge fat man, covered in a bright, rich outfit and decked out in jewellery. He had a large smile on his face, but his presence in the warp betrayed him, with only a cold, calculating emotion.
Behind him came several guards and two other nobles. Their desperation and nervousness coming in loudly through the warp.
Confidently stepping in, the fat man bowed flamboyantly. "Greeting Inquisitors. I am Jorik of House Valtorin. These are Iscara and Aurek of House Valtorin too. I have been told that you seek a guide for the underhive."
Brigitta moved to the side, allowing Elion to take the lead. "That's correct. I take it you can provide that?"
"Indeed, I happen to control a gang in the area."
"And they can guide us right?"
"Correct. I would—"
"No need Jorik, I am more than happy to guide them down and meet with your contact." Aurek cut in. She felt a need to shower, the nobles simpering and desperation coming clear through the warp. Not to mention his sliminess. But she could guess why he was doing it. It wasn't hard or even surprising. An out-of-favour noble, seeing this as his last chance. She wanted to shake her head, or better yet, remove his.
Jorik paused, staring at him. Before stiffly saying. "Very well Hier Aurek."
"Good, that's settled then, how soon can we be off? I would like to leave today." Inquisitor Elion said.
"Today?" Aurek said, suddenly unsure.
"Yes, the expedition won't be for a few more days, but I want to be down there before them. They are so keen to avoid me."
Which suited her just fine. She needed to get down there and pick up the trail. The sooner she could find it, the sooner they could excise the rot that was the Ex-inquisitor.
"Errm."
"Good." Jorik talked over him. "Aurek has all he needs. Here are the tokens to take you to the correct sector, and you will be met there by a member of the gang."
---
Brigitta once more found herself tapping her leg impatiently. They had left soon after their desperate guide had appeared. How useful he would be, she had her doubts, but he could maybe provide a distraction if it came to it. No, it was his guards that were the actual guides, using tokens to allow them access to certain routes through the hive. Even with that, it had taken them hours, passing through sector after sector.
Each layer they went down, conditions became just that bit worse, and soon she had to rely heavily on her bionic lungs; the fumes were that bad. The first few elevators weren't too bad, with glass looking out to the outside, giving them a view out over the hive.
But they soon entered the smog, and then even that was gone as it was one tightly sealed elevator after another. All around them, millions of others were moving to and from their destinations. Even away from the spire, the upper hive was okay. Not pleasant but habitable, with larger, more comfortable habs. But that soon gave way to grimness and squaller.
She swallowed down her emotions as she always did at the sight. Not quite sadness, maybe pity, but even that wasn't quite right. It was these people who kept the Imperium going, and what did they receive for their sacrifice? She had always found hives depressing, sure, she had been to worse places, chaos cults and demons rarely grew in pleasant places. But there was a certain kind of suffering to the hives.
Regardless, they were nearing the underhive, thank the Emperor. She could tell from all the graffiti on the walls of a symbol she recognised from her file on the Pariah. So they were deep into the Courts' territory now.
It couldn't happen sooner; Aurek had been testing her patience. Jumping and flinching at every sound, laughing too hard at anything even remotely funny, she said. It was grating. Turning to Iskra, she asked, "Anything?"
"Nothing yet." He replied. He might not have her or even Vortjren's psychic strength, but he more than made up for it with his sensitivity. He was the best she had ever found, barring certain organisations. Able to pick up the smallest shifts in the warp.
Glancing at the rest of her retinue arrayed around her. Her kill team and guards in master crafted carapace armour, her two sanctioned psykers both in hexagrammic warded carapace armour, and hadn't that been a pain to acquire.
But well worth the price. They were equipped differently from there, with Iskra having a special auspex sensor helping his role as a scout, whilst Vortjren, as her combat psyker, had a force staff, enhancing his already formidable strength. Both also had a Psychic hood.
The final two were the least protected, not that it made them any less dangerous. There was Rhassia in her trimmed-down carapace armour and her Needle Pistol with the poison ammo. Finally, there was Tolven, not someone she thought she would get on with when they first started to work together.
A fanatical priest worshipping the Emperor, just not the current Imperial faith, putting him at odds with one of the most powerful factions in the galaxy. He only joined her at first for her protection, but in the intervening years, a respect, if not friendship, had formed. He was clad in robes, although that belied their protectiveness, which was on par with some carapace armour. On his right hip, he had a chain sword and secured tightly on the other were some reliquary bones, from past martyrs of his order.
Spreading out her senses once more, she could feel the tiredness and gloom around her. Although up ahead, she felt… pride? Maybe contentedness. Not something she associated with the underhive. They rounded the corner, moving through narrow, dirty streets, coming to another checkpoint.
But this one was far more defensive than the others she had passed, with the alert guards, attentive and in well-maintained gear. They almost looked like PDF if it wasn't for the various gang symbols. She felt herself tense slightly as she spotted an active autocannon at the back. How did they have one of those?
Rhassia clicked her tongue next to her. To most, it would mean nothing, but she knew her long enough to understand how surprised she was. Glancing at what had caught her attention, she saw several very impressive cyber mastiffs.
Well trained and with good conversions, at least to her untrained eye. Curiouser and curiouser. This definitely wasn't the average gang. Looking over the equipment, she had seen some armies worse equipped than this.
As they reached the blockade, a kid swaggered up to them. "What's ya business?"
"We have a meeting, so let us through." Brigitta said
"I'm not see'in a token. Get one of those and then I will allow ya through."
"Allow us through now." Bronn growled next to her in his full armour, his gun starting to rise from the floor. She should feel angered, but she was more amused.
"Let us through." she said again, this time raising her Rosete hanging off her armour, as proof of her office.
"Pretty medallion, but this is Court turf, we are in power here. Leave!"
She could feel herself blinking stupidly at the kid, in full disbelief at what he said. She could feel the others around her in a similar state of disbelief. Before they could snap out of it and force the issue, likely killing the kid, a voice from further down the tunnel cut through the rising tension.
"Tane. What the fuck are you doing?" At the sound of the voice, she started, having not felt him approach. His mind was hard to feel in the warp. But as soon as she was aware of him, she could feel his mind loud and clear, and she lost most of her interest in the young ganger.
The man's mind was… different, unlike anything she had ever felt before. Controlled. Disciplined. Solid. Just brushing against it, she had her doubts she would be able to force her way in, definitely not without him knowing. What it reminded her most of were the minds of the Grey Knights, specifically the Paladin still on her ship.
It didn't have the burning power contained behind those shields, but it had an almost crystallised lattice through him. But not a spec of corruption to be found.
At the voice, the boy snapped to attention. "Boss? They have no pass?" He said, suddenly sounding unsure.
"For the love of the Throne." the man whispered as he came into view. "Tane, skedaddle before you start a fight we really can't win, with not one but two Inquisitors."
"Inquisitor?" He said, suddenly going paper white.
"Yes, now scram and remind me to train people on basic symbols like the Inquisitor Rosette." He carried on muttering to himself until he reached them. Now able to get a good look at him, the kid was fully forgotten. If his mind was unique, so was his armour.
It was clearly power armour, judging by the designs xeno in origin, although not one she recognised. Not unsurprising, as there were still hundreds of small xenos empires on the outskirts of the Imperium. She exchanged a glance with Rhassia, who had an eyebrow raised. She could feel herself tense. She might need to upgrade the gang's threat level if they had access to that kind of tech.
While she didn't think he alone was a threat to her, it brought up concerns.
Aurek gasped. "How do you have that?" He demanded.
The man cocked his eyebrow. "Found it." Dismissing the noble, he turned to them, bowing. "Inquisitors."
"No, I demand to know where you got that armour and to return it this instant." She could almost see the greed in his eyes; it was definitely present in his warp signature. "In fact, I will confiscate it right here."
"Quite." the man said, clearly unimpressed. She could barely feel his emotions through the warp; they were that tightly controlled, but they were odd; they didn't flow through his warp signature. She could see them in his body language, but none of it moved into the warp like it would for anyone else.
Even weak emotions bled into the warp, distorting it.
"I am a Noble of House Valtorin, an heir! We are your superiors."
"Yes, you are, but not much longer, aye." He said, smirking slightly, his eyes cold and hard. "Now enough. This way, Inquisitors. How can the Midnight Court assist you?"
Moving forward, the rest fell into step behind her, except for Aurek, who stood there stunned, like a gaping fish, before startling and scurrying after them. "I am looking for signs of chaos and a heretic."
"Really? We've had no chaos cultist sighting for over 15 years."
"I'm aware. It was those sightings that gained my attention."
"Well, I don't know how much help we can be, but you have our full support. Anything else?"
They moved past the checkpoint into a wide, lit tunnel. The lights overhead providing just enough light to see by. As they walked, she could see dozens of tunnels branching off the main tunnel.
"Yes." Inquisitor Elion said. "There is an expedition into the ruins which I will be taking part in."
"Ahh, yes, we already have several tech-priests setting up instruments. You have timed it well, then. Tidefall will start in less than 12 hours."
"12 Hours? I was led to believe it was several days."
The man chuckled. "Then you have either been lied to, or they are wrong."
"And you know this how?" She could hear the doubt in Elion's voice and for good reason. His source was from the tech priest above.
"Experience." He said before falling silent, leading them deeper and deeper into the tunnel network.
She made to ask more when Tavian caught her attention. Nodding, she fell back slightly, her core moving in around her. She activated a xeno device that would block any eavesdroppers. "Tavian, you have something to add?"
"Yes Lady Inquisitor. I would believe him."
"Why?"
"He has been rumoured to be the best diver into the ruins… ever. Many who have approached him over the years have had incredibly successful dives with him present."
"And these stories have been corroborated?" Rhassia asked.
"Yes Lady Kholn."
"Who is he?" Brigitta asked, although she had a feeling, she knew the answer. She had read the reports on the hive.
"Aleric. The fixer of the Courts. He is incredibly well known in the underhive by this point."
"I saw his file; he is competent, a good shot, but nowhere have I seen anything outside the norm." Sergeant Bronn said.
"Most of the feats are not assigned to him. Either no one can confirm, or others take the credit. For example, a kill on a gang leader was made to look like another gang. It was only years later that it came out it was him, and there are hundreds of examples like that.
"So at least the Court sent one of their best as a guide—."
"I sense chaos." Iskra suddenly said.
Brigitta's attention snapped to him. "What?" She threw her senses out but couldn't feel anything.
"It is incredibly faint, but it is there. It is a few hundred metres that way." He said, pointing in the direction of some tunnels.
Before they could discuss further, howls echoed down the tunnels. The kill teams tensed around her, and the noble cowered, crying out. "What was that?"
"Nothing to fear." Aleric said. "We have it under control. Just some pests, that's all."
They could hear the sound of fighting getting louder and louder, with flashes of light coming from a nearby tunnel.
"Deal with it. You're our guide, keep us safe!" Aurek said nervously, glancing around.
It might have been a trick of the light, but she was sure she saw Aleric roll his eyes. "It will be dealt with shortly. I called for Snuffles to deal with it." He still looked incredibly calm and relaxed, but the men around him looked a lot less sure, at least until they heard that. Then they relaxed, some even smiling.
Snuffles? What or who was that. It wasn't an impressive name. She wasn't the only one who thought that, as the momentary contempt she felt from the noble before fading back into terror once more.
Something was unsettling about the monsters. As they got closer, she could now feel the chaos Iskra mentioned. It was faint, incredibly so, and she might have missed it if she wasn't looking for it, but it was there.
She was about to command a kill team to deal with it when a deep growl rumbled up the main corridor from ahead of them. There was something primal about it, sending the hairs on her arms on end and goose bumps to break out. She wasn't scared; she had seen far too much to be scared of this much, but it set her on edge.
From the gloom, three large shapes bounded forward. The two at the back were large, easily coming up to her hips, but the one at the front must have been twice the size.
She almost called for her team to engage until she saw the gang members around Aleric, sighing, relaxing. The lead mastiff bounded forward, landing with a thunderous thump, the floor vibrating beneath her, next to Aleric. Who, rather than scared, grinned and stroked him. Now, he was still, she could get a proper look at the massive cyber mastiff. He was one of the more impressive specimens she had seen. Not that she had seen all that many in her time.
But she had done a few missions with the Arbites, who regularly employed them. To be fair, the other two hanging back also looked like very healthy specimens as well, although clearly not as well augmented. The larger one had well-made bronze armour.
"Good boy. Think you can deal with our pest problem."
The cyber mastiff huffed as if laughing at the very notion of not being able to and bounded away, barking at the other two to follow. They blurred down the corridor, moving fast enough that her eyes had trouble keeping up.
They were led on by Aleric, but behind them, she could hear the roars and shrieks of pain of the monsters dying. "What are they?" She asked. This might be a good lead.
"The monsters? Pests mostly. We have taken to calling them Miregnats. We think they are from the wastes."
"Why?"
"They constantly attack our walls and convoys if they move through the wastes. We have tried to find how they are getting into the hive, but even when we close one entrance, they always seem to find another."
"Why don't you find their source or nest?" Vortjren asked.
"We've tried, but as I said, they are mostly pests to us. They are hurting the other gangs far more than us, which can only be a good thing right now." Of course, it had been so… maybe not peaceful but stable as they travelled through the hive that she had forgotten the hives were in a state of war.
It showed the Court's size that she hadn't seen any skirmishes or even conflicts in all the time she had travelled through the hive.
Rhassia perked up at the mention of outside the hive. "They attack the Wall? What is this Wall?"
"It is our defences leading to the wastes."
"And they attack often."
"Daily." She would need to have a look at the Wall; this sounded like a good lead for her.
Not long after that, the cyber mastiffs trotted into view, coated in gore, but all looking very pleased with themselves. The largest tried to muzzle up to Aleric, only for him to push the dog away, laughing.
The rest of the walk was uneventful, and they reached the settlement in short order. It looked exactly like she expected and yet different. It was the same she had seen hundreds of times in her missions to root out chaos cultists. It was prettier than normal with everything covered in a glowing fungus of some kind, but still the same squaller, temporary housing and dilapidated building.
The people were the same as well, shifty, hardened-looking people, worn down and half-starved. But yet, that was where the similarities ended. The people, while looking the same, felt very different. There was almost hope to them, certainly calmness. They moved through the streets with confidence that they wouldn't be harmed.
The city also changed as they approached the supposed HQ. The streets were cleaner, buildings better made or repaired, and they were better lit, with powerful streetlights. This contrast was even more obvious when they reached the HQ, where dozens of well-armed gangsters were at well-made checkpoints.
Hell, the constant smog was gone. She had no idea when, having not noticed it vanishing, but when they stepped into the Court's HQ, it was far more noticeable as the air almost tasted fresh. The people were clean, well-fed and wouldn't look out of place in an army regiment.
All in all, she was quietly impressed by what the gang had achieved.
"That's you Inquisitors. I can take you to some rooms you can use if you would like to wait here, or I can take you to the tech priests.
"I'll stay here." Elion said. Which didn't surprise her. But she needed to see this wall and hopefully find a lead.
"I want to see this wall you mentioned."
"Certainly. Mik." Aleric said to one of the guards who had travelled with them. "Please take the Inquisitor to the rooms prepared for them."
"Got it boss."
"Now this way please Inquisitor." Aleric said, indicating the way they had just come. He led them through the city and across a huge hole, sinking into the abyss. She was very glad to be on the main bridge, not the hundreds she could see precariously crisscrossing the void.
As they exited the area of the HQ, the city started to get run down again, but as they neared a huge hab block, it improved once more. An old gang headquarters that the court had taken over, Aleric explained. He had been giving them a brief running commentary as they walked, answering any questions they had.