Canoness Katherine strode through the corridors of the Arbites barracks, drawing plenty of surprised looks from the men and women of that august force. The directions she had been given turned out to be thankfully accurate, and she found herself standing at the Interrogator's door, though strangely, his nametag had been taken down from the door. Cocking her head slightly in curiosity, she rapped on the door with the back of her knuckles.
Another damn visitor. Delphias thought, slamming a box of pics down on his bed and turning to open the door. He was jarred by the sight of an armored sorita standing in the threshold. Delphias sputtered for a moment before finding his voice. "Katherine- what are you doing here?" he asked, confused.
"I was hoping to speak with you...privately," She replied, glancing down the hall at the arbitrators, some of whom were watching surreptitiously, other openly staring at the bizarre sight. "About the attack on the Pompeii Estate."
"Urm, of course. If you would come in, I know it isn't roomy, but it is private," he said, more for the benefit of the half a dozen arbites watching him than for Katherine. Hopping onto the upper tier of the bunkbed- Gorson had slept on the lower one, he gestured to a small chair in the corner. Between Sister and Arbitrator, there was not much room left. Delphias slid the door shut. "What did you want to talk about?"
Katherine cleared her throat as she backed up against the wall. Her glance darted to the closed door, knowing she was breaking one of the cardinal rules of the Adeptus Sororitas...No Sister should even be alone with a man. She took a deep breath, "I will come straight to the point...Aside from Inquisitor Godschilde, you are the only one to have encountered Gaius and lived. I hoped that you would tell me anything you could about him. His appearance, weapons, and powers he displayed. I'm afraid we know nothing of him in this incarnation."
Delphias took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You want to know about Savitiae." his voice was quite. "You must understand, sister, that this is difficult for me. His appearance? He wore armor, violet, or near enough. His weapon? A whip, not normal but it-" Delphias stopped. "It cut well enough." He closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall of the cell. "His other hand bore claws like the most horrible renditions of the Warmaster." Delphias spoke, his voice wavering, then simply sat.
"Claws...that's new," Katherine nodded. "The purple armor and the Neural Whip are old favorites though."
"The armor...writhed, it was alive-" Delphias cut himself off. "He spoke to me, before he disappeared. Gaius claimed to have ascended, said that he was no longer a man...he was a demi-god." The arbitrator looked away, eyes held shut.
"Delusions of Grandeur?..." Katherine pondered. "Or has he had some sort of dark apotheosis during his stay in the Eye of Terror. Has Slaanesh favored him so greatly as to make him some sort of daemon-infused Sorcerer?"
"I'm afraid I wasn't taking detailed notes, Katherine." he said, darkly. "Forgive me for being distracted by...other things."
"It is not my intention to pressure you, Delphias...just what you can remember," She watched him for a moment, "I know about your friend...Gorson. I won't insult you by making speeches about sacrifice, martyrdom, and grieving. I'm sure you've heard it all before."
For a moment Delphias did not move. When he spoke again, his voice was strained and quiet. "I am the messiah of Slaanesh, the apotheosis of mortal man." The arbitrator stopped for a moment. "That is all I can tell you about him."
The Mother Superior stroked her chin, "All right." She moved toward the door but paused before opening it, "If you should think of anything, I would very much appreciate it if you would seek me out. I'm not usually hard to find." She laid a hand on his shoulder, "Emperor Protects, Delphias."
