The massive black void ship slowly docked at the Starport's berth, its engine's roar gradually diminishing until it fell silent.
Alex stepped onto the familiar metal ground, taking a deep breath, as if to draw the essence of this star-filled sky back into his lungs.
He had returned to his loyalty Rostov, and although he had been away for a while as Planetary Governor, this planet remained firmly under his control.
Greeting him, besides Chamberlain Rachel, was an immense volume of government affairs.
Rachel stood on the Starport's dock, just as she had when Alex first arrived, holding a data-slate and several scrolls of parchment.
A faint smile graced her face, but a hint of weariness showed in her eyes.
She curtsied slightly, her tone respectful yet warm: "Governor, welcome back! Rostov has been well in your absence, but some matters still require your personal decision."
Alex nodded, his gaze sweeping over the data-slate in her hand, already anticipating the busy period ahead.
He gave a wry smile: "It seems my 'vacation' was truly brief."
Rachel smiled faintly, not responding verbally, but simply handed over the data-slate: "This is a summary of the past few months' government affairs.
I've tried to simplify it as much as possible, but some decisions still require your signature and approval."
Alex took the data-slate, flipping through a few pages, his brows furrowing slightly.
Although Rachel had handled a large volume of daily government affairs for him, there were still many matters that required his personal attention as Governor.
From financial budgets to military deployments, from diplomatic relations to colonial development, each item concerned Rostov's future.
He sighed, patting Rachel's shoulder: "You've worked hard; I'll take it from here."
Upon returning to the Governor's Office, Alex had almost no time to rest, immediately diving into work.
The office lights stayed on from morning till night, data-slates and parchment piled high on his desk, and various reports and charts constantly flickered on the holographic projection.
Rachel would occasionally come in, bringing a hot cup of tea or coffee, reminding him to rest, but Alex would always wave her off, indicating he could still keep going.
"This trade agreement needs to be renegotiated; the other party's terms are too harsh," Alex said to Rachel while quickly annotating the data-slate, "Contact the Minister of Foreign Affairs and have him arrange a meeting as soon as possible."
Although they were all worlds belonging to the Imperium, dealing with external planetary powers could also be called diplomatic affairs.
Rachel nodded, noting it down, then handed over another document: "This is about the follow-up development plan for the immigrant planet.
The engineering department has submitted a preliminary proposal, but the budget has exceeded expectations."
Alex rubbed his temples, carefully reviewed a few pages, and after a moment of thought, said: "Have them re-evaluate, prioritize the construction of basic infrastructure, and other projects can be appropriately postponed."
Thus, Alex worked busily in his office for about a week before finally clearing all the accumulated official duties.
"Woohoo! Finally finished!" Alex stretched in his enormous office, feeling an urge to roll around on the desk, which was larger than his bedroom in the 3k era.
The government affairs that had accumulated over the past few months were finally dealt with, and he finally had a little free time again.
"Rachel, please ask Kaldor Draigo to come over; I have some matters to discuss with him." Now that he was free, Alex remembered the Blood Oath Society matter and decided to consult an anti-daemon expert to discuss how likely it was that they were heretics.
After all, ultimately, he was of the Pacification Order, not a specialized Inquisition Ordo like the Pursuit Ordo or the Hammer Ordo.
The Pacification Order's main business was the extermination of xenos; if aliens were discovered, calling them to fight was no problem—they were all experts at genocide.
But facing daemons or heretics? The Pursuit Ordo and the Hammer Ordo were the true experts.
So, since he suspected them of heretical tendencies, Alex felt it was better to have a professional look into it.
Soon, Kaldor Draigo arrived at the Governor's Office, and Alex explained the situation to him.
Kaldor Draigo took Alex's concerns very seriously; after all, if Alex's suspicions were true, it would be a major event affecting the entire Mariupol Sector!
"Governor, the Blood Oath Society itself is a branch church recognized by the Ecclesiarchy, and blood-related religious practices are not uncommon within the Ecclesiarchy.
On what basis do you judge them to be heretics?" However, before taking action, Kaldor Draigo was very curious as to what specific reasons Alex had for deeming them heretics.
Alex found this question difficult to answer, as, from a certain perspective, the Ecclesiarchy was the largest cult in this galaxy, and Huang Lao Han was the fifth greatest evil god in the galaxy!
The Ecclesiarchy had some seemingly heretical practices; burning live people as sacrifices was nothing, let alone collecting blood to worship Huang Lao Han.
The Cult of the Emperor's Saintly Martyrs had similar customs, and they were also religious organizations sanctioned by the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition.
Therefore, Alex's suspicion of the Blood Oath Society was, in a sense, very unnecessary.
But out of a certain intuition, he still harbored doubts about the Blood Oath Society.
"Alex's suspicion..."
"Kaldor Draigo, I have no evidence to prove they are heretics, and the Inquisition's suspicions never require evidence.
My suspicion of them is just an intuition; I feel there's something wrong with them, so I want to investigate." The reason Alex gave was quite… normal and reasonable, because he was an Inquisitor, and he could initiate an investigation based solely on suspicion.
However, under normal circumstances, those working for him should be his recruited agents or Throne Agents.
But Kaldor Draigo didn't mind; he just nodded in understanding: "An Inquisitor's intuition, eh? Then I hope you can assign some personnel to me; I need assistance."
Although the Grey Knights themselves were experts at combating daemons, one person was often not enough, and assistance and cooperation were needed.
Especially for an operation that required in-depth investigation, Kaldor Draigo needed easier-to-hide secret agents or the support of regular armed forces.
"You can have the Ash Knights assist you.
I will inform Sergeant Yarn shortly, and he will assist you." Alex nodded, indicating that he had already arranged for personnel: "Additionally, you can contact my Chamberlain Rachel; she will assign Governor's Office secret agents or other personnel or resources you need, providing you with the necessary assistance."
After saying this, Alex looked at Kaldor Draigo again and said seriously: "Investigating a branch of the Ecclesiarchy is a big deal.
Although I do have suspicions, I still hope you will conduct the investigation cautiously.
I don't want to cause a huge stir."
"I understand; I will be mindful of the scope of the investigation." Kaldor Draigo was not surprised by this and nodded in agreement.
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