- On Terra -
Guards were everywhere, all carrying their weapons unholstered and ready. They were twitchy, shadowing even senior officials like Tieron until they were sure he was not some simulacrum sent to deceive them. They weren't entirely stupid to think that. Reports were full of body-wearers infiltrating the Palace, then opening fire and slaughtering dozens.
No one trusted anyone, and they checked and counter-checked every order before following it. That made the already slow-moving bureaucracy even slower to react. They lived in a fog of confusion, something no doubt intended by their enemies.
Tieron's first meeting that day was with Representative Arx, the Mistress of the Inquisition, the current Inquisitorial Representative.
The Inquisitorial Representative was a title held by one of the High Lords of Terra who sat on the Senatorum Imperialis on behalf of the Inquisition. This individual was nominated from among the Inquisitor Lords of the sectors surrounding holy Terra and was often referred to as the Inquisitor Lord Terran.
When selecting an Inquisitor for this position, the Inquisitor Lords rarely disagreed on a candidate, as strange as that sounded. But there was a good reason for this. Largely because the role carried very little honour, serving primarily as a messenger of the Inquisition who communicated its directives rather than expressing the Representative's personal views.
Despite the lack of personal prestige, the Inquisitorial Representative bore significant responsibilities. The Inquisition wielded absolute authority, but that power depended on cooperation with the other High Lords of Terra, which was crucial to maintaining the Inquisition's influence.
For instance, if the Representative incurred the wrath of the Fabricator-General of Mars, the Inquisition's access to starships and weaponry may be jeopardised.
Conversely, if the Inquisition perceived that an organisation was neglecting its duties, it could pressure the relevant High Lord, turning an organisational issue into a matter of personal confidence. This dynamic gave the Representative extraordinary leverage, as they typically did not seek the position out of personal ambition, minimising their risk when dealing with the other High Lords.
However, the High Lords often knew their subordinates envied their positions and sought to safeguard their power. Consequently, even a slight indication of the Inquisition's displeasure could lead to a High Lord's removal, replaced by another member of their group.
Such developments could be particularly detrimental to High Lords in non-permanent roles, such as the Speaker for the Chartist Captains or the Lord Commander of Segmentum Solar, who were most susceptible to the Inquisitorial Representative's manipulation.
.
He barely settled in when Arx entered, gliding into the chamber like a black swan.
Arx was strange, and he didn't know her well. He always found inquisitors hard to deal with; they were intense souls, driven by forces he didn't fully understand. Representative Arx was drawn from the ranks of the Ordo Malleus, the daemonhunters, which gave him rare comfort during their current clusterfuck.
Of all the High Lords, she was among the most composed, having seen similar phenomena throughout her long career in the Imperium's service and accustomed to its worst effects. But he was certain she wasn't immune.
"Cancellarius," she said, bowing slightly.
"Representative," Tieron replied, gesturing toward a low leather armchair near the fireplace.
In times past, they might have indulged in small talk, asking after one another's staff or relations and musing on the absurdities of life in the Administratum, but not this time. Thankfully, she came straight to the point.
"There are daemons on this world," she said, flatly. "Consider that. No planet has had more scrutiny than this one. Just days ago, we punished the merest hint of heresy without pity. And now there are the foulest creatures in all eternity capering within sight of the Palace."
Tieron knew that. He had seen the classified documents, and heard the testimony from those brave enough to venture into the hives. He even saw them himself, unless that mirror was a hallucination, which he no longer believed.
"Can it be contained?" he asked.
He felt groggy and wanted more sleep, but he couldn't. He knew he had hours of meetings ahead and couldn't afford to sleep. Not that sleep helped much anyway.
"I've mobilised all my inquisitors on-world. Dozens more are being pulled back from stations elsewhere, but we can't go beyond the Sol System. I dread to think what's happening outside."
"Titan, then," Tieron said.
He was not supposed to know about the Grey Knights, or their headquarters on Titan. Only a few of the High Lords knew, plus the highest echelons of the Ordo Malleus. It was funny what one picked up over the centuries, though.
Despite its undoubted efforts, the Imperium was never very good at keeping secrets. Arx knew the score, of course.
"The request's already been made. Valoris spoke to me. Can you believe that? Our golden protectors, those whom you wished to send off into the grinder of Cadia, are already asking for help."
He could do without the sarcasm. It was bad enough to see his hopes crushed so publicly without a reminder that his proposal also stripped them of their most capable defenders. But who could have known that just when he pushed for the edict, Terra would be plunged into darkness like this?
"And what was their response?" he asked.
At that...
"Hahahaha." Arx laughed.
He'd never seen her laugh before, and he never wanted to again. It was entirely inhuman, a cynical, dark amusement that revealed more of her soul than she intended.
"Their response? They're sending forces to Luna."
Tieron was momentarily taken aback.
"I've had no reports of disturbance on Luna."
"Of course not. I would be surprised if you had. That's the point. The Grey Knights have… capabilities. That's where they think the next move will play out."
He rubbed his eyes. Throne, he was tired. He felt exhaustion in every movement.
"Then we'll need to reinforce the dockyards--" he began.
"No," she interrupted. "No, we'll need our forces here. They're sending what they can spare. Grand Master Anval Laraon has divided his forces three ways – a standing defence on Titan, a major attack group for Luna, and a reserve detachment for Terra. The latter will be the weakest of the three – little more than a sop for Trajann Valoris, to keep relations amicable."
He couldn't help the smile that slipped out. It was a sly smile, born of exhaustion.
"I'd like to see those two meet," he said.
"I wouldn't," Arx said, brusquely. "So here it is. We'll have minimal Grey Knights support. The Palace is the priority. That, and the Fortress of the Astronomican. We can plausibly keep those secure. The rest…"
She trailed off, and it took him a moment to realise what she was suggesting – abandoning the rest of the planet to ruin and chaos. If he had heard it from anyone else, he would have snorted in disdain.
"Then you're saying we can't hold this world in its entirety?" he asked, wanting to be sure he understood.
"I am."
"This is Terra."
"I'm aware of that."
"We have billions under arms. We have Titans. We have Naval support."
"Indeed. And they're all going quite, quite mad."
She spoke so calmly, yet he knew she was right. Throne, he had seen reports of Arbites stations being overrun and had watched vid-feeds of hab-towers descending into utter chaos and madness. The priests' age-old control was slipping. Reality began to crumble all around them. The skies burned, and no one slept for days.
They seemed to have nothing to do but watch from inside their crumbling walls.
"You've spoken to Haemotalion about this?" he asked.
"You'll do that. You'll speak to the others too. It's about priorities. We can't afford to make mistakes now."
He felt a horrible sinking feeling that she was right, that very few others would recognise it, and that all that lay ahead was more struggle and conflict.
"We've lost the beacon temporarily. We've got some work to do to restore order. You can't be suggesting we cede our control just when things get difficult," he said.
At that, Arx leaned forwards, resting her elbows on her knees. She was a hard woman to look at, all bones and harshness.
"I received a man in my care several weeks ago," she said. "He was sent to me by a watch division from the southeastern wall sector. I believe a Custodian detained him, someone you might know, but that detail is not important. What matters is this: he was not a ranting demagogue. He was deeply immersed in the kind of corruption I've only encountered on worlds far from here, and he was filled with the Warp. Once we applied the necessary instruments, we began to understand what had been happening."
He couldn't look away. Arx had the presence of a woman with nothing more to lose, the almost unnatural resolve of the damned.
She continued.
"He knew so much. He understood things even my most skilled adepts don't. There is a blind, mutilated sorcerer in the gaols who calls himself Iskandar Khayon, and others attest to this with surprising agreement. These individuals are revealing everything we've ever wanted to know because they no longer fear anything. They are telling us about the Crimson Path, the Great Rift, and other possibilities that were once thought impossible. It's becoming difficult not to believe them."
"They're lying," Tieron said right away.
"No, Chancellor. They're not. Why would they?" She pressed her palms together. "Every war we've ever fought, every crusade we've ever launched, every Black Crusade we've ever fended off, it's all been leading up to this. Ask your Custodian friends. They know this too. That's why they're paralysed by doubt. They know things we've forgotten. It all rests on this moment. Our decisions now can damn us."
As she spoke, he began to feel increasingly ill. He had lived for so long at the epicentre of the Imperium, far from the wars and the filth, that it had left him numb. And now... now he was reminded that he had merely forgotten, or maybe never really understood.
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.
"I'm telling everyone the same thing. Anathema Psykana are returning, some running ahead of the storm, others caught in its expansion. We'll need as many as we can gather, and the Captain-General has been active in bringing them back."
Tieron hesitated.
"He told me he didn't know we'd ordered them home."
"You believed that? You're losing your touch, Chancellor. He's been doing everything he can to collect them for some time now. Those two always fought together. The Custodes and the Anathema Psykana. He recognised the signs a while back, and I suspect only he had the knowledge to get a message to them in time."
Tieron felt foolish. Events moved faster than he could understand or influence. He wondered how long this would continue and how much of it was dictated by his requests.
"Then Lamma was right," he said.
Uila Lamma was the Paternoval Envoy of the Navigators and a High Lord of Terra. She had already told him about this, and he hadn't believed her.
"We're going back to the old templates."
"Some of them."
Arx stood up, brushing her long robes. He did too.
"I supported you in Council, Chancellor, because you were right. This changes nothing, at least for now. Things will change over time, but survival comes first. You understand this?"
She came closer, and he saw the fine lines of care around her eyes.
"You've seen us all come and go. We must keep the Council together on this."
He nodded weakly. There was so much to process, but she was right. That was his role. He was there as a kind of glue, meant to mediate between the different interests and plots of the High Lords. He needed them all to work together.
"Thank you for telling me these things."
"What we said will remain secret."
"Of course."
"Not that there's much cause for secrets now."
She turned to leave, and in that moment, he felt a sudden surge of irritation. It might have been building for weeks, fueled by his recent failures, or perhaps it was triggered by the exhaustion weighing on him. Whatever the cause, it wasn't like him to react this way, but the emotion spilt out nonetheless.
"We're not done yet, Representative," he said.
Kleopatra Arx turned back to face him.
"I've had my aides tell me we're done for fifty years, but we're not. There are daemons on Terra? There were before. Damn them. Damn them all. This is our home."
He couldn't decipher her expression then. Was she amused? Contemptuous? Confused? Maybe all of those things. In the end, though, she just nodded.
"It is at that," she murmured.
Then she was gone, leaving him alone in the chamber that he had devoted his life to beautifying. He glanced around at the exquisite items, which cost more than some hives. The objects that once brought him so much joy.
Now, however, he could no longer feel happy about them. They felt fragile and insignificant against reality. Collecting them felt more like an indulgence than ever. The compensatory pursuit of a weak man who should have been stronger, but was falling apart like warm wax.
Then his comm-bead clicked, and a dozen new bulletins ran down his retinal feed.
So he started walking. Work called. As always, work called, but at least now he had a clear direction.
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I hope this captures the bleakness and terror on Terra right now. Those who always thought they were far above the rabble and the conflict are now slapped in the face. Simply breathing is painful, sleeping brings night terrors, and everyone smells of fear. All while the planet descends into madness and chaos.
_____________________________
Alexei Lev Tieron:
- The Chancellor of the Senatorum Imperialis on Terra. While not a High Lord, the position nonetheless makes Tieron extremely powerful, and he gained significant influence over his eighty-year tenure as Chancellor.
Chancellor of the Imperial Council:
- A position within the Imperial government. The Chancellor is the chief bureaucrat of the Senatorum Imperialis, effectively serving as the body's primary administrator.
- Though not a member of the High Lords, the Chancellor of the Imperial Council is nonetheless a powerful and influential position due to the access to the top levels of leadership it provides.
Anna-Murza Jek:
- The aide-de-camp to the Chancellor of the Senatorum Imperialis, Alexei Lev Tieron.
- She greatly aids Tieron in his efforts to keep the Imperial Palace functioning during these times.
Kleopatra Arx:
- An Ordo Malleus Inquisitor who serves as the Inquisitorial Representative on the High Lords of Terra.
High Lordsat this point in time:
- Irthu Haemotalion — Master of the Administratum
- Oud Oudia Raskian — Fabricator-General
- Zlatad Aph Kerapliades — Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica
- Leops Franck — Master of the Astronomican
- Baldo Slyst — Ecclesiarch
- Aveliza Drachmar — Grand Provost Marshal
- Merelda Pereth — Lord High Admiral
- Uila Lamma — Paternoval Envoy
- Kania Dhanda — Speaker For the Chartist Captains
- Fadix — Grand Master of Assassins
- Kleopatra Arx — Inquisitorial Representative