Lifetime of war

My faith is my shield

Von Ryke stood by the barred window, looking aimlessly into the wasted horizon. The more the Inquisitor looked at the desolated land, the more frustrated she became. Even though she knew it was a necessary sacrifice, she despised how the once-green worlds became all but barren husks. The Inquisitor sometimes wondered what these planets had looked like before the ever-consuming Imperium claimed them, mercilessly exploiting them. But sadly, it was neither time nor place for such considerations.

The woman sighed heavily, visibly allowing her growing frustration to manifest. At least the enormous highways connecting the cluster's segments partially obscured the scorched terrain, she concluded, desperately trying to find some positives. But unfortunately, it was too little to balance her mood.

Nonetheless, the situation looked grim, no matter how von Ryke approached it. Yet, what irritated her the most was the Governor. The person undoubtedly responsible for this mess was inconveniently out of her reach. To make the matter worse, von Ryke could not decipher the man. He was like a puzzle for her, a riddle too complex to make sense of. Still, she did not believe in coincidence; something must have connected these seemingly random events. But von Ryke found herself too blind or too stupid to spot it.

"That's all, Inquisitor," the Lieutenant finally concluded his report. It had been hours since the officer led them into the spire's shelter.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," von Ryke hollowly responded, sighing beforehand. "How many guardsmen do you still have?" she inquired, not averting her gaze off the deserted dunes to the south.

"10 thousand, give or take," the officer responded after a brief pause. "Though we can always conscript this hive's citizens," he hummed.

"Organise me some transport, then," the Inquisitor demanded, finally backing off the barred window. "I want the storage hub to be thoroughly investigated," she added, her tone cold as ice. "Todd, contact the Capitan; I want two Cadian's squads."

"As you command, Inquisitor," Ruff immediately said, visibly happy to move after these long hours of listening.

Rith remained silent, considering the situation for the next minute. Then, as if something snapped in him, the man saluted, exiting the room shortly after. With her assistant leaving as well, von Ryke was left alone. A few moments passed before the woman allowed herself to sigh loudly. She did not believe in superstition, yet her guts constantly shouted at her, warning her about something indescribable. After a slight pause, she concluded it would be fruitless to fight the feeling, so she looked around. Even though von Ryke had spent the last couple of hours here, she did not pay any mind to the room itself. If she were to describe it, the only thing she could name would be the barred window.

Nevertheless, Eleanor did not miss much. The room was quite spacious but mostly unfurnished, aside from a round table cluttered with multiple paper sheets. Averting her gaze off the mess, she glanced over the walls. These boundaries were plain and simple, hardly distinguished from a metal plate.

Soon enough, von Ryke headed out as the room was too dull and still. The woman needed something livelier to battle her demons, not a place resembling her inevitable resting place, which reeked of death.

Still, it did not mean the Inquisitor had dealt with her confused mind. In fact, the truth lay at the opposite end of the spectrum. The Emperor's agent wandered through the hideout, driven by a trance. A silent prayer was murmured under her breath as she tried to decide what she ought to do – some guidance would be appreciated. On the one hand, it was her duty to deal with the threats looming over the Imperium. But... on the other, there were forces within it far more suited to these kinds of assignments. Yet, being an imperfect perfectionist, von Ryke believed dealing with the problem herself would be the best possible option. It was a flawed approach, but one that felt so close.