“When in doubt, always expect the worst. Expect anyone and everyone around you to be conspiring to betray you. Expect every word you say to be interpreted in the worst way possible by those who hear them. Most importantly, always expect luck to be on the side of your opponents. Paranoid is a good quality in leaders.”

- King Quoran the Fearless, the Coalition for Freedom. 

Vice-Warden Jason Stone wasn’t in a good mood. In fact, he was in a worse mood than ever before. 

Nine days ago, which also happened to be the day when they received the order to execute some random boy, Warden Locke suddenly took a trip to the Communication Centre. The protocol with Darkbane Prison was such that it took the security keys of both the Warden and the Vice-Warden to receive messages, but it only required one of the keys to send a message. 

Either way, Warden Locke sent a message. Initially, the Vice-Warden had no idea what was going on. Maybe the Warden had to send in a request for additional supply? He didn't know and didn't care. His time was better spent with the prettier ladies stationed in the prison. 

And then another message arrived at the center and completely ruined the man’s day. It turned out that the Warden wasn’t leaving after all. He sent in a request to the superiors to stay, and the superiors agreed, likely just so they didn't have to deal with someone new. Plus, Warden Locke was one of the best people they’ve got for the job. 

This was good news for most personnel at the prison. Warden Locke was not only good at his job, but he was also one of the more sensible Wardens the prison has seen. Of course, it was unsurprising that the Vice-Warden was among the few that were made furious by the news. 

For the next few days, the Vice-Warden had been trying to find ways to, at the very least, piss off the Warden. If the opportunity to get rid of him altogether presented itself, then Jason would be happy to seize it as well. 

The Vice-Warden position was a representation of a common Imperial feature: the separation of power. Despite seeming quite out of place in a society like the Empire, it was actually quite logical. In most Imperial command structures, it was punishable by death for those who questioned their superiors. Unless the commanding officers outright declared themselves as traitors or an order arrived from further above the ranks, the foot soldiers had to obey their COs to the letter. Burn a village? Fine. Massacre the defenseless prisoners. Yes sir!

Freedom? Justice? Those were reserved for the powerful and the noble. The only thing the common people needed was obedience.

In that case, it became dangerous if the commanding officers themselves stepped out of line or were working against the interest of their Lords and Ladies. To provide some oversight, secondary officers like Vice-Wardens were put into position with the right to observe and challenge the primary officers if the need arose. 

Therefore, Jason Stone technically had the right and the security access needed to oversee the actions of the Warden and, if necessary, remove him from his position. Of course, doing so required evidence and, in most cases, authorization from superiors. In most cases, it also required the secondary officers to be brilliant at convincing the troopers in the unit to stay on their side. 

In the past, Vice-Warden Stone never bothered with actually being vigilant. He didn't need to be a veteran to tell that there was no way the Warden was a traitor. All he wanted was to retire and enjoy the fat compensation package!

All of that changed recently, and for one reason or another, the Vice-Warden decided to start examining the Warden’s behaviors. 

“Let’s see what that liar is up to…” 

In his office, Jason grinned as he scrolled across the security log on his Personal Interface. He started from the present and went back in time, tracking the Warden’s every move in an attempt to find any sign of treason.

The most recent activity recorded on the security log was Warden Locke in an interrogation room. The security camera outside the room showed him being joined by three guards. But...something felt weird about the way the guards were moving. Two of the guards seemed to be flanking the third one, who wasn’t armed. 

Jason might not be an experienced soldier, but he had quite the basic knowledge about combat thanks to his family background. It was obvious the two guards were treating the third man as a potential hostile. 

He tried to access the footage of the security camera inside the room, only to find it archived and impossible to access. Obviously by the Warden’s orders. 

Ok...that was odd, but at first, the Vice-Warden didn't think much of it. Maybe Locke thought the man might be a traitor or an infiltrator? Or perhaps the man was guilty of violating the Imperial Military Codes? Whatever...things like this were too common in the Imperial Military. Archiving the footage was unusual, but Jason had done that a few times himself in the past. It was well within their rights. 

The camera outside the interrogation room showed the suspect leaving the room in one piece not long after, no longer escorted by anyone. He didn't seem to be in too much trouble, so...a false alarm? 

Jason kept on going through the security log, and he was surprised when he saw that the case with the guard wasn’t unique. As a matter of fact, Warden Locke had been having private meetings with over a hundred guards in the last seven days, and that was just the last week. Everytime, he would be in the interrogation room with the interrogated for ten to twenty minutes, likely asking the interrogated some questions, before letting the man or the woman go. As far as Jason saw, there were no follow-up actions. 

From time to time, there would be cases where all available security log and footage were kept out of Jason’s view. Archived. He couldn’t even see who was being interrogated by the Warden. 

Jason’s brows darkened. This no longer seemed like an exception. No...this was looking more and more like a large-scale operation, such as an investigation. Again, this was well within the Warden’s rights. If the Warden suspected treacheries within his ranks, he could do anything it took to handle the issue. But usually, the Warden should’ve told his second-in-command about something like this, but Jason never got the message. 

Even now, Jason didn't jump to the possibility of a betrayal. He simply suspected that the Warden was looking into something without telling him. It was odd, but still far from impossible. 

What are you up to...Locke? Jason thought to himself as he kept on moving backward in time in the log. Maybe he was doing this due to private reasons at first, but now, he felt the need to find out what the Warden was planning. After all, the man’s actions in the past few days have been rather odd, from canceling his retirement plans to meeting up with all these people and archiving the footage…he must be up to something!

The archived logs and footage stretched back to over two weeks ago. Yes, it was something that Warden Locke did to throw potential investigators like Jason off. This way, it would be more difficult to pinpoint when he started meeting with the prison personnel. It also helped to hide what truly happened in the interrogation room with Alexander Wolf. 

And this plan worked. For the next few days, the Vice-Warden found himself deeply confused about what the Warden was up to. Locke kept on meeting with prison guards and prison faculty members alike throughout the day. He would talk to them behind closed doors and then proceed to let them go. As far as Jason could tell, there were no recurring meetings.

Despite knowing something was up, Jason had no idea what options he had left. He couldn’t exactly send a message to his superiors just because of this. There was no rule saying that the military commander of a unit couldn’t have private chats with their subordinates. He considered going to the Warden and straight-up questioning him, but that would no doubt alert him of his investigation. 

If he could unarchive the security log, then he might get some insight into what was going on. Yet despite having sufficient security clearance, he was unable to perform that action. The staff at the Communication Center told him there was something wrong with the system. Some sort of glitch across all archived files that rendered them impossible to read for the time being. The technicians promised it was nothing too serious and the issue would be fixed soon. Jason was frustrated, but all he could do was to demand that the staff work double-time on that. 

Still, despite all these obstacles, the Vice-Warden threw himself at this challenge. As a matter of fact, this was perhaps the first time he was so serious about something. The combination of the mystery of all this and his anger toward the Warden made him more determined than ever before. He was going to find out what the Warden was up to and take him down!

When the broader research failed, he dove into the details, and after days of work, he finally came across a critical clue. 

The security log in one of the prison halls in the 9th District showed a young man being escorted out of his cell by a squad of guards. Jason didn't know what the young man’s name was other than that his cell was registered to two prisoners, one male and one female. The young man’s prisoner ID seemed to be 4938. 

Either way, the squad of guards escorted the prisoner into a blind spot in the security footage, and when the Vice-Warden followed the trail of blindspots, he found himself in one of the interrogation rooms. Despite not having the footage of the space itself, Jason knew the Warden must’ve been in that room. 

Chronologically, this seemed to be before the Warden started meeting up with the guards and the staff. The Warden rarely sat down with any other prisoners, making this meeting especially unique. 

So...did this prisoner somehow make the Warden initiate the prison-wide investigation? Jason was confused, but a simple look-up of the prisoner ID in the prison database made him come to a chilling realization. 

The prisoner was Alexander Wolf, son of the arch-traitor!

“By the Holy Emperor…” For a second, Jason sat there with disbelief in his eyes. This...this was unbelievable! With lightning speed, he scrolled the time frame forward. Just as he feared, almost half an hour later, Alexander was taken back to his cell, alive and unharmed. 

“What have you done, Henry?” 

At this point, things have become a lot clearer. Warden Locke received the order to terminate Alexander Wolf. Instead, he let him live, going against the direct order of Count Lamb. After that, he had been meeting up with members of the Darkbane Prison Security Forces in secret. Wait...is the Warden plotting a rebellion?

The idea was so absurd that Jason almost smiled at the thought. Really? If Warden Locke thought he could somehow take over the prison by force, then he must have been delusional! A hundred guards couldn’t take over a prison of 5,000! And so what if he did claim the prison? Once the Darkbane Security Ring found out about this, a company of Obsidian Marines could retake the premises! All that idiot would achieve was get himself and all his allies burned alive!

The Vice-Warden’s first thought was simple. Get to the Communication Centre and send a message to the superiors detailing the Warden’s betrayal. Once he had the authorization to engage, he would order a lockdown of the facility and have the Warden and all the guards he met up with seized. Since none of the guards said anything about the meetings, they must’ve been compromised as well...as impossible as that seemed.  

Yet just as he stood up from his seat and headed for the door, Jason suddenly paused. If he did that and played things safely, then while he would likely be praised for his loyalty, praises might be all he got. However, if he could go one step beyond and have the Warden seized before calling this in…

What would please Count Lamb more? Report of a traitor, or the report of a traitor, along with his confession and a list of all his plans and culprits? 

Unlike most of his family, Jason wasn’t such a fan of giving his life for the Holy Emperor and the Phoenix Empire, but if he didn't even have to risk his life to get rewarded, well...that was simply a tempting idea.

In the end, the Vice-Warden made his way out of his office. He quickly turned to the four sentries standing around the office. They were his personal bodyguards, and they would obey his command and his command only. 

“You four, with me.” Jason ordered before heading for the hallway. As he moved, he had trouble hiding the smile on his face.

Why did Warden Locke help Alexander Wolf? He didn't know and he didn't care. Perhaps he was secretly a Wolf sympathizer. Perhaps he was bribed by the young Wolf. All Jason knew was that this made the Warden a traitor, and thus a good stepping stone for his own ascension to power.