Hannah congratulated herself on her restraint and stalked over to the combination bed-workbench shared by Tink and Jim. The technophile guardsman flinched backwards at her approach, being well aware of what he also had coming, but Hannah had used up her allocated period of self-indulgence. Ignoring Jim's rasped greeting over his secondary vox, Hannnah immediately launched her prepared diagnostic routine. Several tense seconds later, Jim (and Tink) squawked in surprise as Hannah declared the techpriest's body to be a total write off, and in need of a complete rebuild and re-sanctification. Hannah ignored the response and signalled her laggard escort to get moving if they wanted to hit their own deadline, before simply picking up the badly burned Jim with her mechadendrites and carrying him off to the exit. Or, at least, she tried to. Hannah swore as Tink's stupid heretical plasma-multitool smashed into the ground, dragged off the workbench by all the power cords, followed a second later by his drone-controller. There was a short pause, as the guardsman and the techpriestess locked gazes over the fallen items, and Tink's face paled. "Oh come on Hannah, just give me a minut-" >"DON'T YOU 'COME ON HANNAH ME'!!! I AM HERE AS AN AGENT OF THE ORDOS JURIS AND I AM CONFISCATING THIS HERETICAL XENOTECH!!! ALL OF IT!!!"

The second shuttle landed just as the first one was taking off with Aimy and the Palladian enginseers. Hannah briefly reevaluated her decision not to go up to orbit with them, but she'd arranged her own ride with the THIRD shuttle, and if she could just get out of the line of fire, she'd be able to reach it without either her or Jim being dragged into things. Thinking invisible thoughts and standing firmly in front of the gurney, Hannah watched as Administrator Tact strolled right in like he owned the place and congratulated the squad on a job well done. This sentiment was rather undermined by the two squads of arbites Tact had brought with him, but the guardsmen were surprisingly restrained in Hannah's opinion. It was probably because Twitch wasn't there. Hannah wondered if that mine he'd welded to his backplate had finally misfired and, if so, how she would be able collect her winnings. Actually, Sarge, Nubby, and Tink seemed to be, if not completely at ease with, at least completely resigned to getting arrested at the end of their mission, again. It was probably because of the politeness of the arbites, treating the guardsmen like something just short of space marines and assuring them that their "laundry brig" was just how they'd left it, you know, on account of all the mines. Hannah chuckled to herself, and then felt a pang of sadness as she wondered whose job defusing them would be now. Tact was less deferential than the arbites, presumably because he'd known the guardsmen for longer. Dropping any sense of false cordiality, he dryly informed Sarge that with the success of their "mission" and the rescue of the Von Humpedig heir, there was just the small matter of clearing our names along with the rest of Oak's minions. Tact was certain that as long as nobody started shooting anyone (he shot a grateful look over at Hannah), everything would be sorted out and nobody would be executed, excruciated, or anything else that started with ex.

Inquisitor Quercus blinked in the daylight and stared at the scene of utter devastation he'd emerged into. Inquisitorial headquarters was a lot flatter than he'd remembered, and the bits that were still standing were mostly being kept upright by a mass of hideous daemonic flesh that had grown through half the fortress. Several enginseers were being used to clear just such a blockage from the tunnel he'd emerged from. The smell was indescribable. With full access to his stored memories for the first time in quite a while, Oak was able to look at this scene of horror and conclude that it had been A: Worth It and B: Totally within projected collateral damage estimates based on "The Squad's" past missions. Which is to say, he REALLY should have seen this coming... The Lord Inquisitor and the Deathwatch captain were taking things a little less serenely than Oak, having emerged from the bloody purge of the conspiracy inquisitors only to find the inquisitorial headquarters literally leveled. Administrator Tact was running damage control (of course), primly explaining that the Grey Knights had run into a slight problem involving the conspiracy's lower-ranked agents, and, ahem, a sudden outbreak of Alpha Marines. Fortunately, the bureaucrat had good news, too. The Ordo Malleus had responded appropriately and were in the process of containing the Daemon as we spoke. Oak's gaze settled on the large new gothic structure standing in the foothills below, lit up on all sides by las and bolter fire. As he watched, the entire structure abruptly shuddered, the weapons-fire stuttering for a moment, as the entire cathedral slumped slightly to the side and began smoking. Tact assured the Lord Inquisitor that that was them finishing.

Doc groaned in recognition as he was wheeled into the Inquisitorial Tribunal and realized it was the same damn prefab courtroom where he had been sentenced to a stint in the Inquisitorial Penal Legion for flagrant parking violations. It made sense, though,these outbuildings away from the central complex were the only thing left standing, unless you counted all the structures that had been too reinforced with mutated daemonic flesh to fall to orbital bombardment. It had been hastily redecorated to make it look appropriately tribunal-y, at least according to the squad's legal counsel, a familiar wheelchair-bound scribe. Doc hoped the scribe's lawyering was as good as his scribing, and nodded along as the man explained the importance of having separate desks for each of the three ordos, mostly to prevent fighting and kicking one another under the table. Doc supposed it really had been rigged from the get-go, in a good way. When the arbites had hauled them off, Tact had informed someone (possibly Sarge) of the little matter of 'clearing our names', but the translation to 'imminent inquisitorial tribunal for gross misconduct' wasn't made clear until Doc regained consciousness. Specifically, it had taken until Doc had asked why they were back in the laundry brig and had been convinced that the previous few weeks of unremitted cluster-frakking had actually occurred. The discovery that he couldn't move his legs was comparatively minor, and only really became an issue when he attempted to stand up and go to the latrine. Despite the fact that he'd been the last to find out, Doc had been elected both spokesperson and paperwork filler-outer. It was probably because everyone else could run away. The very first piece of paperwork was a note from the elderly spy. A note which nobody else had read in the THREE DAYS he'd been unconscious.

Seven hours later, Doc successfully petitioned for the first recess, something only made possible by Inquisitor Sciscitat losing his voice. The Rupert had promised to keep the man sidelined until the following day, which was a massive relief, since Sciscitat had managed to hold thirty-six hour meetings with chemical and mechanical assistance. The Scribe quietly apologized for the insufficient stacking of the court. He'd vetted our history with these inquisitors, and Sciscitat in particular had seemed to be very fond of us, in comparison to his other minions. Doc stared into the distance while silently blaming Nubby, who he was pretty sure was the one to come up with the idea of doctoring that blowhard's post-mission report. Or maybe that techpriest, whoever he was; Doc wondered if he was still hiding from reassignment in the Guard quarters. Either way, instead of being stacked, the court was split down the middle with one inquisitor venomously declaring us to be the most vile incompetents ever admitted to inquisitorial service, and the other cheerfully rubber-stamping our every action and asking for 'the juicy details' and the occasional round of aged amasec to set the mood. This paralysis left Doc's fate,and everyone else's too he supposed,hanging in the hands of Inquisitor What's-His-Face, who mostly just seemed to be upset about how none of the incidents involved HIS missions. Or, well, mission. Doc just had to hope Sciscitat's naturally charming personality would win the man over to The Rupert's side, since the evidence sure as hell wasn't going to do it. While in this predicament, Doc wondered just which one of Tact's bureaucratic minions had been put in charge of maintaining our disciplinary record, but he hoped the man had died a horrible death at Daemon and/or Daemonid hands. Or Orks. He'd settle for the Orks. But he hoped they made it frakkin' hurt. The Good Scribe just grinned at him.

Mission: Investigate rumors of heresy in mustering Pilgrim Fleet Outcome: Cult successfully purged with minor losses >AAA Notes: Minimal cleanup. Minor mundane collateral damage single ship. No signs of [Redacted] involvement. Interrogator cleared for advancement. Reprimands: >Disregarded orders >Destroyed ALL the evidence >Left Interrogator in the brig >Raised a civilian militia and got it killed >Faked deaths to avoid redeployment Tribunal Charges: >No charges

Mission: Investigate anomalously low Black Ships tithe Outcome: Organized Sub-sector-wide Psyker Trafficking Operation discovered, local collaborators purged with minor losses >AAA Notes: Hereticus cleanup detail requested for warp-tainted ship. Minor mundane collateral damage to local civilian infrastructure. Signs of possible [Redacted] involvement, follow-up operation to be kept internal. Interrogator cleared for advancement, flagged as potential Asset. Reprimands: >See attached filing-cabinet Tribunal Charges: >Directly violated orders, resulting in the loss of a valuable intelligence asset >Murder of an Inquisitorial Agent >Desecration of an Inquisitorial Agent's corpse >Tampered with an official Inquisitorial report

IMission: Investigate statistically over-performing Guard Regiment Outcome: Discovery and disposal of Psychically Active Heretek Artifact. Regiment deemed clear of psychic influence, rotated to Munitorum depot for re-arm and refit. >AAA Notes: Per standing directives re: Magos S, cleanup delegated to Ordos Juris contact. No signs of [Redacted] involvement. Interrogator cleared for advancement but refused, flagged for observation. Reprimands: >Official complaint from the Mechanicus for destruction of property and personnel >Official complaint from the Commissariat, just on general principle Tribunal Charges: >Failed to return evidence for disposal: Warp-Tainted Chainsword (1)

Mission: Identify and purge Genestealer Cult (A) Outcome: Mission aborted with heavy losses, Interrogator arrested by own team for flagrant heresy. Purge delegated to local authorities, cult status pending Ordos Xenos review. >AAA Notes: Interrogator A confirmed to be [Redacted] agent. Internal cleanup and trace team assigned, records sequestered, survivors flagged for observation. See attached record (B) re: losses and reassignment of asset A. Reprimands: >107 sexual harassment reports against one "Captain" Nubbs Tribunal Charges: >Attacked an Inquisitorial team, killing their Interrogator >Attacked another Inquisitorial team, leading to the death of another Interrogator >Using a Rosette without authorization >Transporting a heretic across sub-sector lines without a permit

Mission: Investigate reports of Chaos Cult activity on Feral World Outcome: Cults purged with minor losses, World cleared for reintegration and targeted recruitment. Alpha Marine recruitment operation discovered and purged. >AAA Notes: Internal acquisition team expedited per Observer C's request, Ordos Hereticus and Deathwatch informed via official channels. Observer C's catalog of the recovered Geneseed forwarded to Inquisitor Q and analysis team Alpha. Observer C recommends both Inquisitor R and Team G99 as potential assets. Reprimands: >Brought Ecclesiarchy forces into an Inquisition operation without authorization >Official Deathwatch complaint over how few Geneseeds were recovered Tribunal Charges: >Abandoned a mission to infiltrate a cultists base, necessitating an orbital bombardment

Mission: Assist Acquisition Team with spaceship purchase Outcome: Spaceship purchased, Acquisition Team lost in transit. >AAA Notes: Ship OB confirmed to already be in records and flagged for seizure, recommend immediate review of all purchases made by Quartermaster N. Recovered psykers diverted to internal recruitment, Ship OB refit costs to be assigned to recruitment budget. Team G99 assigned for internal review. Reprimands: >Quartermaster Nubbs failed to perform financial due-diligence, leading to massive cost overruns >Official complaint from the Mechanicus for destruction of property and personnel Tribunal Charges: >Negligent loss of assigned Acquisition Team >Misuse of Inquisitorial data and funds

Mission: Recruitment and Induction Detail GS-BE Outcome: Aborted due to Xenos attack >AAA Notes: Planetary Observer A and Interrogator U confirm Necron, Heretek, and Iron Warrior presence, no [Redacted] activity. Planet to remain flagged for Observation and records to be sequestered as internal. Clean-up teams to be assigned pending trace. Reprimands: >Official complaint from sub-sector Fleet Command for requisitioning a press-ganging permit for a completely unaffiliated Rogue Trader. Tribunal Charges: >You SOLD a NECRON SHIP to a ROGUE TRADER.

Mission: Investigate statistically anomalous guard desertions Outcome: Tau recruitment operation discovered, local assets purged. Interrogator Bane Johns remanded to Ordo Hereticus custody. >AAA Notes: Interrogator J confirmed as nascent alpha-class psyker with probability warping abilities, as predicted three terran years ago by this office. Team G99's survival is exceptionally noteworthy, recommend permanent observation and assignment to trace team. Reprimands: >Allowed the actual xenos collaborators to escape in favor of some sort of holo-drama moonbase attack. >Failed to recognize obvious signs of warp phenomena and psychic powers in an unsanctioned person. Failed to accurately convey a captured psyker's abilities leading to their escape. >There is no such thing as 'Vampire Orks'. Tribunal Charges: >Launched an escape attempt against orders, leading to deaths of Inquisitorial agent(s). >Assaulted an Inquisitorial Superior. >Fired an Inquisitorial Superior at a "secret moon base"

Mission: Assigned to joint strike force for eastern fringe trace and purge mission Outcome: Mission Accomplished >AAA Notes: Embedded Observer T's extensive notes on team G99 have been attached. In summary: team has been inducted as probationary assets under Interrogator Sargent with Observer T acting as handler. Observer also recommends constant supervision, simplified briefings, and visual aids to be used by future handlers. Team G99 assigned to trace and cleanup mission with rest of strike force. Reprimands: >Failed to report contact with supposedly deceased Inquisitor Lars Weebu to the Ordos. >Official complaint from the Harmonious Collective of Affiliated Colonies for: Speeding, attempting to bribe a traffic officer, threatening a traffic officer, tampering with a vehicular safety transponder, possession of prohibited weapons, assault, grievous assault, mass grievous assault, mass murder, assaulting an officer, fleeing a crime scene, abandonment of prohibited munitions, trafficking prohibited substances. Tribunal Charges: >Aided and abetted a Xenos Galactic Power's propaganda efforts. >Procured proscribed xenotech armaments and blasphemous devices. >Misappropriation of mission budget.

Mission: Extended trace and purge mission, xenotech smuggling Outcome: Necron incursion detected and intercepted, local collaborators purged >AAA Notes: Incursion intercepted by Ordo Juris forces with moderate damage to imperial civilian and space assets. Internal teams Sword and Battleaxe detached to assist Ordo Juris with cleanup operations, team G99 to be given strike force command and assigned high-priority acquisition mission. >AAA Notes 2: Observer T reports asset A recovered and embedded into G99, requests clarification if Inquisitor Q is "out of his frakking mind or just forgot about her." Clarification request forwarded to Inquisitor Q. Reprimands: >Abandoned assigned mission in an attempt to steal an Eldar shuttle, without orders >Possession and use of unsanctioned xenotech >Failure to recover valuable xenotech >Failure to recover intel >Failure to recover anything else, at all >Ceded control of an inquisitorial operation to the Mechanicus Tribunal Charges: >Triggered Xenos attacks leading to the total depopulation of several majority-human buffer systems, the destruction of a Mechanicus void station, and severe damage to an Imperial world. >Consorting with Eldar without Ordos Xenos approval.

Mission: Assist Emperor's Scythes in acquisition of Xenos sample Outcome: Sample acquired, Space Marine team missing in action >AAA Notes: While not an official inquisitorial mission, this is presumably where Inquisitor Q's "missing" geneseed went. Observer T confirms this as an internal operation. Per Observer T's recommendation, operation flagged as internal, records sequestered. >AAA Notes 2: Upon reestablishing contact, recovery team requested for MIA acquisition team. Observer T recommends delegating to Lamentors, and to consider the chapter as provisional assets. This is presumably where the rest of the missing geneseed went. Reprimands: >Failure to report Oak to the Ordos Xenos for such a dubious mission >Failure to recover secondary space marine team Tribunal Charges: >Negligent loss of a space marine stealth shuttle >Negligent loss of space marines >Unsanctioned acquisition of an alpha-class xenos psyker

Mission: Transportation of a Xenos sample Outcome: Subsector-wide astropathic blackout, redeployment of imperial fleet assets, and significant civilian and strategic damage to station Alumentum Primaris >AAA Notes: Collateral damage exceeds all projections, Observer T reports confirms [REDACTED] data leak, official Ordos investigation inevitable. Per [REDACTED] protocol, all available internal teams assigned to cleanup effort, assets informed, observers recalled, records to be split into sanitized and sequestered versions. Reprimands: >"We missed your message because our Astropath exploded" is not a valid excuse for failing to obey an Inquisitorial recall order. >Unauthorized sale of Emperor's Scythes property. >Unauthorized trading in Xenos artifacts. >Piracy. Tribunal Charges: >Negligent psyker containment leading to the loss of thirty two and a half sanctioned psykers, crippling sub-sector comms and commerce. >Failure to surrender to the nearest Imperial authority upon learning we'd been reported "Rogue". >Resisting lawful arrest by Imperial authorities. >Theft of Munitorum stores in values exceeding a hundred million thrones. >Destruction of Administratum & Telepathica property and personnel. >Negligent spread of xeno-biological contaminants >Negligent loss of sacred Space Marine artifacts and legs. >Wasting Imperial naval resources.

Mission: Delivery of Xenos sample to inquisitorial facility Outcome: Sample delivered, team G99 arrested >AAA Notes: Destination facility currently under [REDACTED] control, seized as rogue inquisitorial asset. Status of Magos S and Inquisitor S unknown, presumed captured. Attempts to track and contact team G99 based on patterns of astropathic blackouts and reports of suspected Tyranid activity have proven impractical. Reprimands: >Failed to follow proper containment protocols, leading to daemonic corruption of a valuable xenos specimen. >If there were such things as Tyranid Daemonhosts, you would be charged with making one. Tribunal Charges: >Continued disruption of Imperial communications leading to mass panic and death on seven worlds, estimated death toll of 36 million. Financial estimate still pending.

Mission: Recapture of [REDACTED]-occupied facility. Outcome: [REDACTED] assets purged. Facility recaptured with significant losses and damage. >AAA Notes: Observer T reports contact with Magos S and Inquisitor S, and confirms all [REDACTED] assets and data leaks dealt with. Per Observer T's recommendation, external analysis teams are to interpret further intermittent warp-shadows as a splinter fleet, and this report is to be forwarded to Inquisitor Q. >AAA Notes 2: Per Inquisitor Q, Team G99 attached to Inquisitor S for internal acquisition mission. Observer T to return to AAA, counter-[REDACTED] protocol in effect. Reprimands: >For Inquisitor Sciscitat's comments, see appendices 107-A - 108-J Tribunal Charges: >Failed to submit to arrest by Inquisitorial authorities >Space Piracy >Deliberately failed to assist Inquisitorial allies, leading to deaths of multiple agents >Aiding and abetting the wanted Heretek known as THE FLESHSMITH

Mission: Attached to Inquisitor S for internal acquisition mission Outcome: Mission abandoned without leave, moderate collateral damage to Queen and Jack Hives, [REDACTED] assets identified >AAA Notes: [REDACTED] assets identified as former Interrogators Angelica Dominus and Bane Johns. Angelica was previously identified as a [REDACTED] agent by team G99, and was placed in long-term storage facility 9, then freed in the subsequent [REDACTED] raid. Bane's presence is less explicable,reports indicate the presence of a Hereticus research facility orbiting Haarlock's Wager, but there is no record of his transfer or any other record after he was handed off to the Ordo. This is why I hate them and they deserve everything they get. >AAA Notes 2: Inquisitor S's decision to bring in Hereticus assets has been retroactively approved by Inquisitor Q, along with a retroactive reassignment of team G99 to Inquisitor P, presumably prior to Inquisitor P's death and "Inquisitor" Sargent's assumption of command. Outcome to be updated pending tribunal review. Reprimands: >Official complaint from the Mechanicus for flagrant tech-heresy (Error, Integer Overflow. Please contact your nearest technical support chapel) >For Inquisitor Sciscitat's comments, see appendices 108-K - 3723-E >Extradition request by the Jack Hive Traffic Authority for: Parking in a Restricted Area Failing to Vacate in a Timely Manner (4) Operating a Commercial Vehicle Without a Permit Impersonating a Commercial Vehicle Operating an Administratum Courier Without a Permit Impersonating an Administratum Courier Vehicle Tampering with an Administratum Courier Vehicle Loading or Unloading a Vehicle in a No-Loading Zone Attempting to Bribe a Traffic Officer Attempting to Threaten a Traffic Officer Speeding (9) Reckless driving (74) Failure to stop/yield (15) Driving against posted traffic directions >Official complaint from the Adeptus Arbites for the death of officers not assigned to Inquisitorial duties (94) Tribunal Charges: >Theft of Space Marine, Inquisition, and Navy property >Unsanctioned modifications of an Inquisitorial Vehicle >Lying to an Inquisitorial superior >Disobeying an Inquisitorial superior >Failing to respect an Inquisitorial superior >Theft of an Inquisitorial Rosette >Negligence resulting in the sudden inexplicable death of a teammate. >Desertion >Abduction of an Inquisition agent >Theft of Inquisition property >Unauthorized access of Inquisition data >Theft of a Class-19 forbidden artifact >Aiding and abetting a Chaos Cult >Aiding and abetting an attack on Imperial forces >Impersonating an Inquisitor

Mission: Assigned to Inquisitorial Penal Legion pending tribunal review Outcome: Re-assigned to Inquisitor R >AAA Notes: Per Administrator T's order, all AAA agents not involved in counter-[REDACTED] operations have begun evacuation. Administrator C confirms [REDACTED] activity targeting mundane evidence storage, requests assignment of ground and cleanup teams. >AAA Notes 2: Per Inquisitor Q, Team G99 assigned to counter-[REDACTED] operation, ground teams directed to lend tier-2 support. Secondary cleanup team requested. >AAA Notes 3: Administrator C reports success coordinating Team G99 and expected [REDACTED] infiltration. Tertiary cleanup team requested. >AAA Notes 4: In all my years in Inquisitorial service, I have never encountered a team so simultaneously oblivious and paranoid. Counter-[REDACTED] operation confirmed successful, no AAA casualties, Team G99 and Asset A successfully removed from the theatre. >AAA Notes 5: Per message from Asset A, mission only partially successful. Team G99 to be recalled, Administrator T will be assuming full oversight. Reprimands: >Failed to rendezvous with assigned inquisitorial contact >Failed to rescue assigned inquisitorial contact Official Complaints from the Commissariat for: >Tampering with commissariat data-slate >Disorderly conduct >Tampering with a commissariat restraint device (6) >Desecration of a corpse (6) >Following outdated salvage procedures >Starting a riot leading to the death of 5 inmates and endangering the life of an unspecified commissarial cadet Tribunal Charges: >Theft of Inquisitorial property >Theft of Inquisitorial credentials >Impersonating Inquisitorial agents >Transporting contraband through an Inquisitorial checkpoint >Interfering with an Inquisitorial operation >Tampering with Inquisitorial evidence

Mission: Return misplaced Inquisitorial evidence Outcome: Evidence lost in transit, Team G99 arrested for Gross Incompetence >AAA Notes 1: Per Administrator T, all collateral damage (local, planetary, and system), casualties, and assorted cleanup operations to be budgeted and tracked under Internal Inquisitorial Disputes: [REDACTED] vs. Quercus. >AAA Notes 2: Inquisitor R confirms Asset A returned and in stable condition. Team G99 apprehended per Administrator Tact, in Arbite custody pending Tribunal review. Administrator C to oversee Tribunal selection process. >AAA Notes 3: All expenses related to incarceration, courtroom scheduling, and evidence storage/retrieval to be budged to Inquisitor S. Inquisitor S's Asset status to be re-evaluated. Reprimands: >Failed to follow established evidence-transfer procedures >Complaint from HQ Stormtroopers for damages to Chimeras and personnel >Complaint from Mechanicus over treatment of Ordo Juris personnel Tribunal Charges: >Possession and transport of a [REDACTED] >Tampering with a [REDACTED] >Smuggling a [REDACTED] into an inquisitorial facility >Aiding and abetting a [REDACTED] >Unauthorized access to a secret inquisitorial trial >Unauthorized participation in a secret inquisitorial trial >Failure to assist Ordo Malleus agents >Unauthorized interference with Ordo Malleus operations >Theft of an Ordo Malleus [REDACTED] >Tampering with a [REDACTED] leading to the opening of a massive [REDACTED] full of [REDACTED] >Using a [REDACTED] to [REDACTED] a [REDACTED] without Ordo Malleus permission >Improper use of [REDACTED] >Improper return of [REDACTED] to Ordo Malleus custody >Sabotage of an Ordo Malleus facility Tribunal Verdict: >67 Charges Dismissed (2-1) Charges Upheld: >Misuse of Inquisitorial data and funds (3-0) >Procurement proscribed xenotech armaments and blasphemous devices (3-0) >Misappropriation of mission budget (2-1) >Negligent spread of xeno-biological contaminants (2-1) >Theft of Space Marine, Inquisition, and Navy property (3-0) >AAA Notes X: Per Tribunal verdict, Team G99 dissolved, Interrogator Sargent stripped of rank, all members to be reassigned and barred from Hereticus service. Per team's official dissolution, still pending legal issues re: Adeptus Arbites to be attributed to mission commander Inquisitor Sciscitat.

Former-Inquisitor, Former-Interrogator, Sergeant Greg Sargent marched out of the Inquisitor's office with the complete lack of pomp and dignity appropriate of a proper NON-Commissioned-Officer. Oak had bitched about the difficulty of arranging the demotion without having SOMEONE shot, not to mention the sheer cost (in both material and lives) of certain "boons". That was okay though, because Sarge understood now,he'd figured it all out: Oak could go frak himself, because Oak was a grunt too. Admittedly he was his OWN grunt, which was weird and involved a non-zero amount of invasive brain surgery by an insane tech-priest, but that didn't change the raw facts. Oak was a grunt, he had his orders, and no matter how galling, stupid, and self-destructive they were, he was still gonna carry them out. The initial debrief had been an entirely different story. Once the farce of a Tribunal was over, and Inquisitor Sciscitat had grudgingly given up on having them all shot, the squad had returned to the Occurrence Border to find Oak waiting in their quarters. Without waiting to be asked, Sarge produced the Tesseract from the half-eaten ration tin where Nubby had hidden it, and confirmed the Daemon's presence inside. Oak had practically collapsed with relief, not even mentioning the stains and smell of two-century old munitorum-issue field rations clinging to the invaluable Xenotech device. From there it hadn't been hard to convince the exhausted Inquisitor to have a few drinks, and the rest of the debriefing was handled in a more comradely fashion. Of course, Inquisitor Oak didn't remember getting drunk and agreeing to let Sarge and Doc (and Sister Valerie) assign themselves to the training teams. Or agreeing to the seventy-page contract Aimy had sent along via The Rupert. Or promising Tink a ride out to the Eastern Fringe to take Fio home and collect his "royalties". And especially not promising to make Nubby a frakking Rogue Trader.

Sarge's course took him to the heart, if not the center, of the encampment: the large cargo bay that had been declared the regimental mess hall. The preparations were obviously underway- the tables and seats being rearranged, platters of actual food were being laid out and kept under guard. Sarge ignored all this, though, heading for the large wall that loomed over the main chow line and grabbing the ladder leaning next to it. Without a word to any of the confused cooks, Sarge lined up the ladder against the large collection of notes bound to wads of cash, IOUs, knicknacks, and anything else that the assorted inquisitorial guardsmen had been willing to wager. The various piles stuck to the wall were organized in sections, each one sporting a name. Sarge climbed up the ladder to the largest of these sections, which bore the name 'TWITCH'. From his perch at the top of the ladder, Sarge turned to face the curious guardsmen filling the mess hall, and bellowed: >Before I get started, did anyone have "Go insane and accuse everyone of being Orks" and "Blow himself up with his own IED", AND "Make an IED out of an exploding Baneblade"? Somewhere in the middle of the crowd, someone asked "Mars Pattern or Lucius?", and then the arguing started. Sarge sighed and started pulling down the massive pile of posted wagers and passing them to the harassed-looking regimental quartermaster and his scribes.

Most of the non-guardsmen agents were either already aboard the vessel, like the remnants of that one training team, a few more of their surviving students, and what Doc had described as a "Cogbro". Administrator Tact and his minions had arranged for shuttles for the remnants of an Ordo Hereticus team, Jim and Hannah, the inexplicably horny old scribe she remembered from her second meeting with Doc, and (at Aimy's request) some commissar. Jim and Hannah flew their own shuttle. The hard part for Sister Valerie was breaching the entirely-appropriate quarantine that had been established around the Occurrence Border roughly ten seconds after Oak and the Guardsmen had departed. Fortunately, when you're a Sister Hospitalier, people tend to trust your authority when it comes to that sort of thing, so all she'd really had to do was requisition a large shuttle and go pick everyone up herself. That and try to figure out how to get that little blue xenos through an inquisitorial battleship without anyone noticing. It was a little aggravating that all it wound up taking was a set of standard-issue flak armor and helmet, a lasgun, and a "Not A Xenos -Oak" sticker pinned to his chest. The annoying little xenos had excitedly explained that he would tell everyone that he was on an infiltration mission to Tau space, and his inquisitor was "kind of an assh'o". It had actually been harder to pry Old Bill and his men away from that horrible excuse for a vessel. That had NOT been a problem with the captain, or his officers, or three quarters of the crew. She did not think many of them planned on asking for a ride back. This just left the most problematic invitee- Fumbles.

Once he was properly conscious and was following Sister Valerie's rules about not touching her mind with his disgusting powers, Fumbles explained that the yellow librarian had misplaced a few of his battle-brothers' souls. Not needing any further explanation, Sister Valerie groaned and asked whether they'd believed him about the poker room. Fumbles groaned back and said they hadn't last week, or the week before, or before that, but she was free to give it a try. Sister Valerie was far too pious to argue with, lie to, mislead, or involuntarily sedate the Emperor's Angels, so she resorted to her most deadly weapon: The Truth. Chasing after the yellow librarian, Sister Valerie corroborated Fumbles's description of the horrible soul-devouring warp-phenomena that was the Occurrence Border. Then, she volunteered to show him, AFTER the funeral. Unless, that is, unless he wanted to go investigate himself... Once the librarian had stormed off to requisition a Thunderhawk (he didn't seem happy that neither of the other two librarians were willing to join him), there was nobody left to object to Fumbles going on a little "walk". Keeping her expression calm, Sister Valerie led their escape from the horrid den of mutants and back into the Emperor's Light, which is to say, the main transit corridor. Instructing Fumbles to find his own way to Guard Country and not to explode himself or anyone else into Daemons along the way, Sister Valerie declared her mission a complete success and ditched the little weirdo. There was still three hours before things got started, and she needed to make sure that her patient's bed rest was sufficiently... restful.

After a quick round hellos and goodbyes to Sarge and Fumbles and a bit of showing off of the duct-tape sealed canister, which got Sarge started on ANOTHER story, Jim and Hannah took their leave. When they reached the gift pile, Jim found Doc and Sister Valerie doing their happy couple thing and making plans for the future of the Generian 99th Inquisitorial Training Regiment while the former captain of the Occurrence Border made his own plans for an escape back to the Segmentum Fleet. Ignoring their discussions, Hannah hefted the cylinder onto the pile of eclectic knicknacks, setting it in a place of honor between Sarge's framed and signed 'You Were Right' certificate and Nubby's IOU for one anti-wish. Doc waved at them, but didn't look away as the captain explained his plan to bring most of the Occurrence Border's escaping crew with him and asked for Doc's help trying to convince Old Bill. Hannah immediately broke in telling him not to bother while Jim explained that he'd seen Old Bill leaving with several pallets full of 'spare' parts 'salvaged' from the Carpe Omnium. The Captain groaned, and complained that without the old engineer, the damned space hulk would have fallen apart or been lost in the warp, where it belonged. Jim and Hannah couldn't help but agree. Their cargo delivered and their own binaric prayers said over the offering ("Ashes to Ashes, Rust to Rust, Metals in Bin 1, Plastics in Bin 2, Batteries and Other Electronics in Bin 3"), Hannah attempted to make her escape. Blocking her retreat, Jim grabbed Hannah by the hand and strode determinedly toward a gaggle of gawking guardsmen and fixated tech-priests. As they approached, a blue "guardsman" pushed his way out to greet them, and Jim and Hannah blinked at the aggressively normal biometric data of Guardsmen Hugh Mann. Hannah groaned and flagged the entry for deletion while Jim greeted his Tau friend and asked if he was excited to be going home.

>1 year later... The legendary Rogue Trader Nubby "Grot-Hands" Nubbs, Feared Scrounge of the Eastern of Fringe, had played his last card. It was not a very good one. The cackling laughter of damned souls echoed all around him, and a skeletal hand reached out towards his face. With a curse and a complaint that the card wasn't the same one he'd pocketed earlier, Nubby pulled off his grandiose hat and tossed it to the grinning skeleton across the table. It was terribly unfair, Nubby whined, since they were all too dead to even SPEND his money. Heavy and Cutter laughed, and the impaled scout-marine just sneered while Crisp breezily assured them that he "knew a guy who knew a guy". Nubby had begun to regret appointing the charred skeleton Senechal, but the previous three appointees had all jumped ship, and the last had even tried to turn him in to the inquisition, the dumbass. Then he'd thought that Officerin' was more about, like, experience, than yanno, 'avin a physical body an' bein' alive an' all that. And he HAD really needed the money... He just didn't understand why they all felt like they needed paying! Nubby missed playing with real flesh-and-blood people, with their own money, and bad poker faces, or really just any face at all. He'd tried to help Twitch draw one on, but the duct-tape-swathed figure was barely more comprehensible than Heavy. Crisp assured him that Twitch would get the hang of talking any day now, especially if they found any more bits of him.

Course, bein' the celebrity he was, Rogue Trader Nubbs had no problem 'quiring all sortsa debatably-heretical merchandise. He even managed to cut a deal with this Tau weaponsmith he and Tink knew for a regular supply of "Pulse Lasguns", which would hopefully get Miss Lady Amelia Interrogator-Colonel (and don't you forget it!) von Humpeding off his back. Problem was, all that sort of stuff was expensive. So, since he'd needed a bit of extra cargo space for all the vids and merchandise they was givin' him in loo-ey of their weird currency anyway, Nubby had decided to do a bit of liquidatin. It'd been a golden opportunity, at least it'd looked like one: an entire planet full of suckers positively begging to buy some genuine Guard memorabilia! It was only after he'd pretty much run out of stock that the stupid xenos had started fussing about 'weapons laws' and 'permits' and 'taxes' and all that. It wasn't like a few thousand lasguns and flak-helmets (and, er, grenades…) were gonna upset the balance of power, or incite the masses or whatever, but he'd still had to leave without so much as a goodbye parade. Nubby hadn't received much sympathy then, and he wasn't receiving much now either. Cutter, Heavy, and Twitch all tossed him a few coins (with various degrees of accuracy) just to keep the game going, but Crisp immediately broke out the IOU ledger and started penning another entry. The stupid Baby Marine didn't even chip in, just flipped him off again; Nubby was thisss close to revoking his offer of Arch Militancy, just as soon as he got any other candidates for the position that is.

Where most inquisitors would have had a Stormtrooper Captain, or Arch Militant, or a whole frakking Deathwatch Space Marine, Inquisitor General Von Humpeding had Retinual Seargeant Sargent. As Interrogator Quid rushed up, the grizzled forever-noncom spotted him and waved him close, and quietly asked if the psyker knew he was 'leaking'. Desperately trying not to blush, Fumbles nodded in appreciation and tamped down his aura before handing Sarge the dataslate. Sarge groaned as he read the report detailing the identity of all vessels in the system, along with detailed scans of the contaminated station and an astropathic invitation to tea. The invitation was from one Rogue Trader Nubby 'Grothands' Nubbs to a lovely tea-and-crumpet poker game (bring your own tea and crumpets), to discuss "matters of 'quisitorial interest, such as if I'm gettin' paid". At a nod from Sarge, Fumbles psychically prodded Aimy, and the Inquisitor General briefly interrupted her storytime, before eagerly beginning to read the entirety of Nubby's invitation to the groaning audience. Letting the inquisitor have her fun, Sarge and Fumbles put their heads together over the OTHER astropathic message- the one that had come from the station, detailing a new wrinkle in the tactical situation. The initial matter of the psychoactive warp-fungus infestation had been bad enough. Fumbles had been sure that someone had left clear instructions, probably Doc or Tact or Jim, but despite that, things had gone rather poorly, and first the guard and now the inquisition had been called in. Perhaps if the "inquisition" hadn't consisted of several of Oak's notorious trainee teams, assisted and transported by the Occurrence Border... As bad as all that was, though, the descriptions and images coming from the station were far, far worse. Sharing a silent look with Sarge, Fumbles gripped his psyfocus and extended his mind towards the distant station to check for himself.

Elsewhere in the system, aboard a third-hand Astartes Stealth Shuttle, a figure in black power armor poured over the same images from the station below. Underneath his helmet, the space marine grinned at the sight of the smoky green figure, and after a bit of thought, changed the pattern on his single colorful pauldron to a pair of crossed scythes, which he felt was appropriate. Modulating his voice and armor biometrics to fit his new role, the Deathwatch space marine opened a communication channel to the inquisitorial vessel to coordinate their missions. Behind him, a green cube hung suspended in a brand new control panel procured at great expense from the eastern fringe. Message sent, the space marine started his approach, confident that THIS TIME, there would be no escape for "Frank".