SIX

"Looks like Inquisitors," Benny said as he looked at his screen. Kon felt a small spike of fear at the words, remembering the cold-eyed inquisitors who had met them above the orbit of Crucible. None of them had been unkind, stern maybe, but they had a duty to perform. There had been an air of malice around them though, as if the wrong answer would end with him floating out of an airlock.

"Oh…would you look at that, it's Lero himself," Benny said. He clicked a few buttons before standing up, slapping Kon's shoulder.

"You get to meet my last Squire. He's a bit…strange," Benny said after searching for the right word for a moment.

"That's the High Inquisitor you're talking about," Alice whispered, looking between the two of them. Kon felt his own flush of anxiety at that but forced it down. The head of the internal security of humanity was coming to their ship.

"He has made a bit of a name for himself," Benny admitted as they headed toward the umbilical airlock that would allow ship to ship transfers. They didn't need to wait long before the soft shudder of the ship heralded the arrival of Inquisitor.

Alice had grown still, not nervous but rather ready to act. Benny lounged to the side, completely at ease as the lights flashed green as the airlock stabilized before opening and Lero, High Inquisitor of Humanity entered their ship.

Kon blinked repeatedly because his first thought was short. Lero Ran was about five and a half feet tall. Lithe with dark skin and amber eyes, a hooked nose and shaved head that gleamed in the light. There wasn't an air of danger around him, a hint of malice like the other inquisitors had had or even the martial might of most Knights. Instead it was like staring into a blank space, as if the man he was staring at wasn't there at all.

Kon's rudimentary rift sense brushed over the void in front of him and reported the same. There wasn't even a hint of energy off the man. That more than anything sent a shiver of cold fear through Kon as the man walked out of the airlock by himself. The door shut with a pneumatic hiss and clank of magnetic locks securing it.

"Benny, what are you doing?" the man asked tiredly, but his eyes were on Kon. Kon licked his lips but saw that Benny hadn't moved to say anything and was just watching them.

"Name's Kon Lorgairi," Kon offered as he extended his hand toward the High Inquisitor. The man immediately took it, pumping his hand twice with brisk efficiency. A tingle ran over Kon's hand, rolling down his arm and shoulder in the span of an eyeblink.

"Body cultivation and no full rune?" Lero asked, quirking his lips and then turning toward Benny before sighing and shaking his head.

"Still can't pierce your veil," Lero said before going and wrapping the old man in a tight hug before Benny could react. Kon stared at the two of them trying to figure out what had just happened as Benny had a long suffering look on his face as he patted Lero's shoulders.

"Good to see you to, boyo," Benny said as they split apart. Lero didn't smile, but there was an undeniable joy to him as he backed away from Benny before looking the rest of us over.

"I must thank you for your work with Melisa, she was shocked to hear you take an apprentice," Lero said with a calm steady cadence that belied the words he'd said.

"You need to talk to that girl about that gramps shit. I have great-great-grandkids and last I checked she wasn't one of them," Benny said but there was no venom in his voice as he turned and led them deeper into the Puca. Kon and Alice stayed back letting the two older Knights walk in front of them.

"Not how I pictured the High Inquisitor honestly," Alice muttered, sounding disgruntled.

"Hmm?"

"Just thought he'd be like, tall, skeletal, deep set eyes and greasy hair and a cackle when he talked."

"Alice, what's a cackle when they talk? A cackle is a type of laugh," Kon asked.

"You know, like there's an evil to their voice. Maybe they'll rub their hands together slowly as they talk about their plots," Alice defended herself.

"You're describing a villainous trope used in drama holos," Kon said with a sigh as he shook his head.

"They're tropes for a reason and the High Inquisitor is about the scariest person in the fleets. Only person who can move between all the factions and answers only to the governor's council," Alice muttered.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"I can hear you," Lero threw over his shoulder and Benny cackled wildly as they entered the common room.

"That's cackling," Kon said as he sat down across from them. Alice snorted angrily and shoved his shoulder but they all sat around Lero threaded his fingers on the table.

"First, Alice Roose, when you return you will have backpay to your name for you when you were declared dead. Your contract has already been paid off by Benny Lorgairi," Lero started.

"Sounds good," Alice said slowly, eyes narrowed as she looked at the inquisitor with suspicion.

"Next, Kon Lorgairi, your family has been notified of your survival and your newfound pay has continued to go to them. I am pleased to let you know they have been able to relocate to the Refuge." Kon nodded along, a pang of guilt spearing through him as he hadn't truly thought of his family in weeks.

"Refuge is one of the other, newer, world-ships," Alice filled him in without asking.

"As for your request to start a new Chapterhouse, it seems that you haven't quite hit the required prerequisite of three D-Grade Knights, but that can be worked around with how strong it appears his body cultivation is. How much power did you shove into those nodes? It's like staring at stars," Lero said and Kon felt a bit exposed.

"Has to be a perception type of rune. I don't think Benny gave him Truth, from the sounds of it nobody except for him has held that." Kon thought over the feeling of power that had crossed over his body when Lero had shook his hand.

"Lero, why'd you come out here yourself?" Benny asked, cutting across the lines of verbal dancing that would have been required to reach their target.

"The information you brought forth. It's not good. Melisa has already made it back to the Oasis and has delivered her report. With the information you've gained and what I've managed to gather we're looking at another Conquest," Lero said. Kon could hear the capitalization when he said conquest and from the way Alice stirred and Benny grew still, they knew something he didn't. Which wasn't out of the norm.

"How many of them?" Benny finally asked after a long minute.

"I haven't figured it out yet, but I am certain that Thierry isn't moving by himself. You're entering the vipers nest and they're starting to stir," Lero warned.

"Can someone tell me what the Conquest is?" Kon finally asked.

"Every now and then we get tired of wandering. Or certain elements get tired of it. They look at some settled worlds and say, wow, those look like they should be mine. Then they try to take them and establish themselves as world rulers," Alice said. Lero and Benny winced at her butchery of history but neither gainsayed her.

"I can guess they're usually led by noble houses," Kon asked.

"Usually. Those families are the ones that have lost the most influence amongst the fleets over the centuries. They can't even use their own warships directly, having to rely on others who have different loyalties to captain them. If they could break away from the control of the Admiralty Board, Council of Governors, and the Knight's Table, they'd be able to grow in power," Lero explained.

"They're looking to use this war as a way to colonize the UImna worlds and use Orgo as their gate," Kon continued on, thinking out loud.

"Use Lupine and goblins to batter through then arrive and relieve the travesty that is occurring on the surface if they want to keep some of the populace. If not they show up to mop up. They have a ton of capital ships that can be used to hold Orgo and humanity won't fight humanity like that. There'd be no real fleet that could go and oppose them."

"Not quite, but close enough. There are other fleets out there, very powerful ones too, but they generally move cautiously. They won't cross the galaxy to come and break down some small grouping of fallen worlds to rein in the excesses of some humans," Lero said.

"This will be the end of the Ulmna in almost every way that matters. It's not just a few planets they're going to lose, it's everything," Kon muttered.

"Shaping up to be like that. What's the Admiralty thinking?" Benny asked. Lero sucked air through his teeth and shook his head.

"Someone has gotten to enough of them that they're tied up in indecision. The Governor's council is strongly against this move, but they only represent the civilian side and the Knight's Table is split. Sommer's is old and has enough allies that even if they don't join him in his butchery, they'll prevent others from moving against him," Lero summarized.

"And the Inquisitors?" Alice asked. Lero's flat gaze suddenly grew hard and Kon finally felt something stir around the older man and it sent a cold chill through him. Whatever friendly face that Lero put on, there was a cold blooded monster waiting just underneath.

"Solidly under my leadership. I brook no dissent in our duty. Thierry and his ilk are looking to shatter the Charter and we're going to be there waiting for them. This conspiracy is unfortunately deep and wide, even my spies have yet to find the edges of it."

"You're going to let it happen to pull them all free?" Benny asked, raising a bushy eyebrow.

"That's the intent. The Guardians have already said they won't interfere in internal matters, regardless of who is involved. You are the only one left of the old guard who still meddles afterall. We let the poison seep to the surface and then expunge it," Lero said and there was iron in his voice as he said it.

"It will require a great price," Benny whispered.

"We've let it fester for too long. We clip the leading edges, but the trunk stays tainted. I want to rip it out roots and all," Lero said, his voice back to normal as if he wasn't talking about the deaths of possibly millions.

"And if the roots are too deep?" Benny asked, sadness filling his eyes.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.