On Whose Authority

[Inquisitor Rosenadel]

‘Archibold, what is the planet that the Old Man visited? I know it was a forbidden area within the Halo Stars. Have you decrypted the file?’ asked a gruff male voice.

‘I have reached the file, master,’ replied the stocky man with pallid flesh kneeling in front of the logicator console. ‘It is asking for the appropriate clearance.’

Inquisitor Carwyn Machenhael strode to the console and inserted his Inquisitorial rosette. His cold green eyes watched the screen as the logicator processed his demand for information. But the scan took longer than normal. After ten seconds, much longer than the normally immediate access he normally received, Inquisitor Machenhael was shocked to see that his Magenta-level authority was unauthorised to view the information. This was, after all, a normal Imperial system he was accessing. Who would have a high enough authorisation code to access this information?

‘It must be a mistake, Archibold. Try it again. There is no authority code higher than Magenta.’ The stocky man turned back to the console, his face eerily underlit. Machenhael watched him type in the correct codes, and then re-insert the rosette. This time the access denial was immediate. Accompanying it was a warning:

+++ ATTENTION UNAUTHORISED USER: FURTHER ATTEMPTS AT ACCESSING THIS INFORMATION WILL RESULT IN POSSIBLE SURVEILLENCE, INTERROGATION, IMPRISONMENT, OR TERMINATION. +++

Before Archibold could object, Machenhael inserted his rosette once more and pressed the processing stud. The screen turned completely dark. The lights in the logic-room dimmed momentarily. Archibold gasped and Machenhael growled.

Machenhael grunted when his vox-transponder beeped, indicating there was someone trying to contact him. He composed himself before answering. His cover was posing as the mild-mannered Mr. Elian Costevez, Imperial researcher gathering information on unnamed planets in the deep sectors of the galaxy. ‘Hello, this is Costevez.’

‘You may dispense with the attempted deception, Inquisitor Machenhael,’ answered a deep, even voice.

Machenhael felt the hair on the back his neck stand on end. ‘Who is this?’ he demanded. He had not become an Inquisitor just to be lorded over by some voice that knew he was an Inquisitor. It could very well be another Inquisitor trying to prevent himself from being discovered as a radical.

The voice’s resolve did not waver. ‘You are not required to know my name, Inquisitor. But I will require that you cooperate with me, or your name will be stricken from the list of living Inquisitors. I understand that you have never had the experience of speaking with one of my kind before, but you will have to get over that quickly.”

Machenhael reeled. “Then what are you? Some heretic trying to bend my mind? You must have some evidence of your true authority that can make me trust you,” Machenhael said. He tried not to make it sound like a plead, but he was quite put off by the mysterious voice.

‘You wish to know where my authority comes from, Inquisitor? That is simple. Whom do you serve?’

‘I serve the Inquisition. But you obviously do not, or you would have merely showed me your rosette. Whom do you serve… I don’t even know what to call you.’

‘I serve the same authority you do, but the one you named is not the one you serve. Think, Inquisitor. Think carefully. Who is your superior?’

‘The Lord High Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus.’

‘And whom does he serve?’

‘The Inquisitorial Representative, one of the High Lords of Terra.’

‘And whom does your representative serve?’

‘He answers to no one! The High Lords form a council amongst themselves, and make the decisions that keep Humanity alive! I wonder if you really are a member of the Imperium if you do not know the hierarchy.’

‘The High Lords are under a higher authority, Inquisitor. Or so they claim. But nevertheless, there is one entity that is above them. They serve Him, as do we all.’

Machenhael thought for a moment. Then the man’s words started to form one word in his mind. It was so obvious, so preposterous that this man should answer directly to Him that it had completely escaped Machenhael’s mind. He let out a slow breath of shock. ‘The Emperor!’

‘Very good, Inquisitor. For a moment, I was afraid you had forgotten the Ultimate Authority within the Imperium. While the High Lords may divine the Will of the Emperor, I have a much more intimate understanding. I am His agent, true agent. I have no nams and though I and those like me operate under the same organization and for the same goal, we are completely independent. Don’t ask the name of the organization, Inquisitor, because I cannot tell you. But this organization does give me total access to anything, and anyone. While you can, in theory, call Space Marines to fight daemons, heretics, and aliens, I have the authority to command them. If I deem in necessary, I can even assassinate a High Lord of Terra personally, and incur no wrath. I may employ whatever means I deem necessary to preserve Humanity, be it a regiment of Imperial Guard, or an alien weapon, or even a book of Chaos Runes. For the Emperor’s Will and Humanity’s preservation is my purpose.’
Machenhael narrowed his eyes, and realised that the voice could most likely see him through some arcane device. ‘You are a blasphemer, a consorter with daemons! You would use the tools of the enemies of Mankind to do your work? I do not trust you for one nano-second!’

‘Inquisitor,’ said the voice impatiently, ‘the Emperor trusts me to remain pure. I have been infested with a Warp-entity most foul, and I have vanquished it.’

A small video began to play on the logicator, showing a dark room, with a man’s head lighted from above. It showed a man, and then the man stepped into the light just in front of him. His head was hooded, but his torso was bare and scarred with holy markings that indicated that he had been exercised by his own hand. There were also scars that Machenhael could not identify, but their ragged shape and unnatural nature led him to believe that it was a result of the painful process of exercising a daemon. The man stepped back out of the light. ‘I will not show you my face, Inquisitor, but I hope this will encourage your cooperation.’

Machenhael stared sternly at the screen. ‘What do you require?’ Machenhael asked.

A faint smile appeared at the man’s lips, which could just be seen under the hood. ‘You were tracking the sites in the Halo Stars visited by one you know as “The Old Man”. The reason the information was closed to you is because aside from discovering many alien weapons that use arcane powers and daemons to power them, he found a very important book that will put the fate of Humanity at stake. If the “Old Man” ever truly realises what is in that book, humanity is doomed to fail as a species. I am requisitioning you to aid me in seeking the Inquisitor and retrieving the book. I will most likely be required to terminate him, as well.’

Machenhael had heard only one word. ‘Inquisitor? The Old Man is an Inquisitor?’

The figure hissed. ‘Inquisitor Machenhael, what other kind of person could elude you so? A heretic? A cultist? No! You have seen this one’s exploits from when he was a mere interrogator. You should have picked up on his somewhat radical methodology. I watched him the same as you.’

‘But who? Who is this Inquisitor?’

The figure smiled an evil-looking smile. ‘I suppose there is no point in keeping you guessing as I will need more information on him, and I will need you to be coherent when you act as my cover.’ The figure paused dramatically. Machenhael already knew that collaborating with this man would be painful. ‘What can you tell me about Mathias Jakob Rosenadel?’