It was rare for Inquisitor Brake to feel this great a sense of impotence. He was a senior Inquisitor of the Ordo Veritas, who could authorize Exterminatus and expect to have it carried out. Here on the Orlanth Rex, his power was more theoretical than practical. The force of fear and the heavy hand of Naval Regulations kept the crew in bondage and the officers generally chose to ignore him, protected by Orders and Tradition. He could kill them himself, but that would accomplish very little. Destroying the Orlanth Rex might well serve as a terrible example to others who would thwart the Inquisition, but it also might hand over a complete Sub-Sector to Chaos. His Duty to the Emperor would not permit this course of action. The circumstances would change and nothing was ever removed from the Inquisition Archives; no insult was ever forgotten.

The cause for his particular frustration was the action of Fleet Commissar Borax. Not only had Borax made his report on the murder of Grand Confessor Morion to the Commissariat, as was his prerogative, he had obtained the seals of Captain Zoltoy and Confessor Vindire and sent his report to the Ecclesiarchy and Imperial Headquarters, finding that Morion had committed suicide and the incident should be suppressed. Well after the fact, Borax had sent his report so that the Inquisitor could put his seal on it and to announce that he would be happy to send the same report to the Inquisitorial Conclave. He noticed that neither Admiral M’Dhu nor Magos Bohr’s seal was on the document. They were not necessary but it would have been advisable to obtain them. He took the report and changed it slightly, adding some ‘possibles’ and ‘probables’, words no one who knew of him would recognize, and prepared his final ‘Report of the Inquisitorial Investigation into the Death of Grand Confessor Morion’, applied his seal and sent off Proctor Paramedes to obtain the other seals from Zoltoy, Borax, and Vindire. He would get the seal from Admiral M‘Dhu and would send a copy to Magos Bohr with a notation describing the inherent falseness of it. He was not surprised that Admiral M’Dhu was able to meet with him almost immediately after Paramedes returned.

The Admiral’s private cabin was large, a complete suite of rooms, but quite austere. While he waited for the Admiral to complete his devotions, the Inquisitor scanned the formal meeting room. The timing of his appointment and the devotions suggested that this delay was deliberate. Were he waiting to Borax, the intended insult would be obvious. Admiral M’Dhu was much more subtle and his motivation was harder to read.

There were several trophy cases in the room, one containing models of every vessel on which the Admiral had served. The first two models were quite crude but the rest were ornate, finely-crafted, and in some cases bejeweled and gilded. There were plaques and testimonials. Captain M‘Dhu was a commander respected and loved by his officers and crew. A second case contained his medals, citations and personal battle honors. It as an extensive collection, continuing right up to the defense of Caldur. A third case contained models and fragments of vessels destroyed or heavily damaged under his direct command. It was a surprisingly large collection, even allowing for M’Dhu’s formerly illustrious career. The vessels were grouped by campaign and while there were several vessels he recognized, there were many vessels, large and small, he did not. According to the Admiral, his forces had severely damaged the Planet Killer of Abaddon the Despoiler; a vessel claimed as destroyed a day earlier by Sector Admiral Zoltoy. The last case he examined was very interesting and revealed much about how M’Dhu saw himself. It contained models and fragments of all the vessels lost or heavily damaged under his direct command. The number of vessels was very small, especially when compared to the contents of the previous case. Attached to each plinth was a count of the dead and the reason for their loss. The Admiral did not spare himself. Each of his mistakes was stated. The Inquisitor noticed that the Admiral rarely made the same mistake twice. It also showed great confidence, perhaps even hubris. There was enough evidence to condemn him in several Courts Martial. The Admiral was clearly making a statement, both to the world and, due to the wait, to the Inquisitor.

The door from the private chapel opened and the Admiral entered, dressed in very plain robes.

‘My apologies Inquisitor, the Captain interrupted my devotions and I had to restart’

The Inquisitor unrolled the official report. For the Admiral to apply his seal, which he did.

‘So, you have determined that it was suicide Inquisitor’

‘No Admiral, I have determined that it was murder. The report says suicide.’ The shot went home. For the first time since he had met him, the Inquisitor noted surprise. The Admiral did not speak, but waited for Brake to continue.

‘I congratulate you Admiral. You have committed an almost perfect murder.’ The Admiral showed no emotion, neither anger nor fear. He also made no denial.

‘Some parts of the crime are still not clear to me. You met with Morion and then arranged to meet with him secretly in the Chapter House. I do not know how you persuaded him to meet you there. You surprised him, struck him on the head and knocked him unconscious took his tether, looped it over the buttress and tied a noose around his neck. You then used the access ladder and carried the body up to lie on the buttress, moved his stool behind the central pillar and then left.’ Still no response.

‘The exercise started and Baske sealed the Chapter House, He never looked up and even if he had, it was not likely that he would have noticed the body lying flat on the buttress. During the exercise, the ship went through a violent maneuver and the body fell nearly thirty from the buttress, tightening the noose, breaking the neck, and killing the Confessor. When the Chapter House was reopened, the body was found.’

‘There is one other possible explanation. The Confessor was locked in the Chapter House by accident, tried to climb out through one of the inspection hatches and was hanged by accident when the vessel made a sudden maneuver.’ It is possible that this was the death you planned for others to discover, but suicide is what Commissar Borax has decided, so suicide it is.

‘I reject the accident in any case. It is hard for me to believe that the Confessor would have ignored the warning klaxon when the doors were sealed and he could have used the emergency controls to escape. Using the inspection hatches, unless in emergency, is forbidden by Standing Orders and even so the tether would be looped around the ladder rungs, not the buttress, and the tether would not be looped in a noose about his neck.’

‘The murder fits the facts. Suicide is ruled out by the broken neck. A man, especially of such a small stature as the Confessor, does not break his neck and nearly tear his head off when he hangs himself by jumping off a stool, and he does not strike himself on the back of the head first. And the body could not strike the walls or the pillar from that position.’

‘Only you could have known in advance about the exercise and the maneuvers used that would dislodge the body. In fact, you engineered the maneuvers. You know the capabilities of your commanders very well.’ No fear, no denials still.

‘The motive, I admit, is less certain. You have been involved in a bloody war with Confessor Morion. He has been systematically persecuting your loyal crew members with false accusations of Chaos taint. He has been using scales of armour from the Arch Redemptor’s trophy case to taint your people.’ Another shot went home. The Admiral had not known that. This revelation confirmed the Admiral’s acceptance of the truth of the other statements.

‘I found the melted remains of one of the scales after the plasma release in the Stabillator Gallery explosion.’ More signs of interest.

‘You had to act before he managed to implicate you in the plot.’

‘No!, By the Emperor No! My life is nothing! It was his for the taking even with disgrace. He killed my crew and officers. He crippled the ship. He had to be stopped! There was no other way.’ The outburst was not unexpected and was timed perfectly, or completely spontaneous. It did not matter.

‘ You are right in that Admiral, he had to be stopped. I would have stopped him myself when this had been brought to my attention. Legally, under the Authority of the Inquisition’ No response again.

‘The official report has been sent to the Administratum. I have sent my own report to the Inquisitorial Conclave and my superior, High Inquisitor Sigismondo.’ Without further ado, he rolled up the report and left the Admiral with his thoughts. He could be condemned and executed at any time. But it was wrong to waste souls. Admiral M’Dhu would serve to the best of his ability, the implacable gaze of the Inquisition, his constant companion. It was use of such tools that fueled the power of the Ordo Veritas. Other Ordos used fire and the sword, death and fear. These were used by the Ordo Veritas too, but the Truth was the greatest weapon.