Arthur looked at the file his superior dropped into his hands, eyes wide as he scratched the side of his helmet, “Are you kidding me?” he muttered, “Ma’am, I know I have only been an Inquisitor for a half-week at most, but this is…”

“Ridiculous? Absurd? An affront to one of the founding tenets of the Inquisition?” his boss replied, “Yes. It is all those things and more. The fact is… this has never happened before. Just so you know that, Inquisitor Wan. Humans have trained humans, Vikshe have trained Vikshe, Seekers have trained Seekers, etcetera. But now you’re being assigned a mentee. A Vikshe mentee…

“I will make this clear though-- and I am rarely this blunt or casual with any of my subordinates, but you have been enough of a rollercoaster of surprises to warrant it, Inquisitor Wan-- you have your orders. I don’t care if it goes against the ways of old or if it spits in the face of god, this was a unanimous decision from high command. Hell, get other Inquisitors to help you out, but, well…”

“Duty calls,” Arthur recited, “If that’s all, then?”

“No, it isn’t. You have a week to train her into an effective survivor in the field. After that, I have to give you your next mission. Understood?” Arthur nodded. His superior, nodded back, sighing and propping her large head up with one of her arms, “This is madness… Off the records, Arthur, what do you think is going on here?”

Arthur raised a finger to reply, but lowered it a moment later. He took a long moment to think, “I can only assume that this has been in the works for years, ma’am. There is little chance that they would break such a foundational custom on a whim-- unanimously as well. If the public were to hear about this… well, I personally don’t think anything would happen.”

“Which is the sentiment that has been floating around for the last few hundred years. None of us ever expected high command to actually go through with something like this, though…” she replied, “Either way, you are dismissed, Inquisitor. You have three hours before your assignment officially begins, so take the time to relax and plan your lessons,” she said, pausing for a second, “And, Inquisitor Wan. Good luck. You’re treading on a minefield if even half of your hypotheses were true-- not to mention your own history with her.”

Arthur saluted, turning and leaving the room without a moment’s delay. Once he was back in the labyrinthine hallways of the Fortress, he sighed and began to walk away. “Inquisitor, your biological signatures suggest stress. Are you alright?”
“Exo, now’s not the time to be acting like a clueless VI. You know the issue as well as I do. I’m supposed to figure out how to mentor a brand new Inquisitor despite being half a week into my own career,” he ranted, keeping his helmet speakers off, “Not to mention the fact that she’s also a Vikshe and she might have lingering emotions about our first meeting.”

“I believe that, at this point, it may not be unfounded to disregard any potential emotions between you two,” Exo remarked, “It has been two years, Arthur. She cannot be holding thankfulness for you for that long.”

“You say that, but she still hunts pirates and their ilk,” Arthur replied.

“Many do,” Exo countered, “But only a few do it out of hatred. Whatever the case may be-”

“Duty calls,” Arthur finished, “But I still have a few hours before I have to begin. What should I spend my time doing?” Arthur thought for a moment, “Actually, ripping this band aid off now will be better for both of us,” he said, spinning and walking towards Kelish’s room.

“Are you sure that this is necessary?” Exo asked, “I still stand by my statements, but you should at least have some list of materials for you to study before you begin, no?”

“Trust me here. Even if she doesn’t have lingering feelings about that, getting to know each other before anything starts is for the best. I mean, I had a day with my mentor before my training officially started,” he said, continuing as he had been. Exo did not reply, instead removing his waveform from Arthur’s helmet to show that he was off doing something else. Arthur did not mind Exo, continuing on for another few minutes before he reached Kelish’s door.

He poked at the panel beside it, ringing the bell beyond the door. After a few moments, the door slid open to reveal a sweaty Kelish in a workout outfit and a towel around her neck, “Inquisitor! What are you doing here?” she asked, obviously confused.

“Well, I have a lot to tell you, first of all. Do you mind if we talk in your room?” he asked, being polite. She shrugged, stepping into the room and Arthur followed. Her room was very similar to Arthur’s own, with the difference coming from the reduction in paperwork equipment and the addition of a small personal gym. She had obviously been in the midst of doing some exercise or other, as evinced by her state of dress. He walked over to her table, placed it in the corner of the room, and took off his helmet, setting it down on the table.

Kelish had her back turned to him as she placed the weights and other fitness implements into their proper places, then turned to look at him. Her jaw dropped and she gaped at him, “What… who… Huh? Wait… You’re!”

“I know,” Arthur said, “And yes, I was the one who disabled your slave chip back on Maylay Prime. Yes, I’m an Obake. And yes, I knew about our connection before I recruited you. Do you have anything to ask or say?”

She stuttered for a moment, then grew a furious scowl, “Anything to ask? Anything to say!? Do-Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you!? A year! A whole year! You save me from that bastard, Yeyimat, and all you have to say is ‘Yeah it’s me!?’”

“Yes, it is,” he replied, “What else is there to say? You were a byproduct of what I aimed to do. I may have felt a bit pleased with myself for doing a good deed, but there was nothing else to it. Besides, I have been training to be an Inquisitor for the last two years. It doesn’t give you much time to go off looking for people you randomly saved.”

Kelish stepped forward to refute his words, but then went silent, “I… can’t argue with that…” she paused, rubbing her head, “I guess I just expected this to be more… important. I’ve been looking for you for the last year to thank you, or just thank your grave, I guess… Maybe that’s why you were so hard to track down…”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but was that really the only thing you were doing for the last year?” he asked, “I guess it’s respectable enough, but it just sounds…”

She huffed, “Fanciful? Idiotic? Like a waste of time?”

“No, just kind of sad.” She stopped and stared at him with a confused look on her face, “You haven’t done anything other than look for me over the last year, doing bounty missions to kill time or make enough money to keep your station running, I’m guessing? What were you going to do when you found me? What was your plan? Where were you going from there?”

She paused, sitting down on the exercise mat, “I don’t know,” she finally said, “I guess… I don’t know, it was closure. That every debt from then could be paid back… God, I feel like such an idiot…”

Arthur shrugged, standing and walking over to her. He offered her a hand, which she took after a moment, “Well, either way, now that that’s done, we can go over the reason why I’m actually here. See, there’s been a bit of a… change in plans.”

Kelish looked at him as he went over to the table and sat down, “A change in plans? What were the plans originally?”

“Don’t ask. That’s something you should always remember. If you are being ordered to do something, do it. No questions asked, unless you need clarification. At the end of the day, we are all soldiers before guardians of knowledge. Everyone knows that,” he said, “But what not many know is that we common Inquisitors don’t know much at all. If you meet another Inquisitor in the field, then they likely know roughly the same things as you do. That is, unless you stumble on a high ranking Inquisitor.”

Kelish tilted her head as she sat down opposite Arthur, “Who are high ranking Inquisitors?” she asked, “And what does this have to do with a change in plans?”

“Asking who they are is an exercise in futility. There is no way to answer that question without being on the wrong end of that same Inquisitor’s gun,” he answered, “But I am telling you this to make you understand that I don’t know what the original plan was, nor why it was changed, nor who specifically changed it. All I know is that…” he paused, “I am now your mentor, and I am going to be teaching you how to be an Inquisitor. An Assault Unit Inquisitor at that,” he sighed.

Her eyes went wide and she recoiled, “But… I’m a Vikshe… and you’re a human… How…?”

“I dunno,” Arthur shrugged, “Like I said, I don’t know why things happen the way they do. They just happen that way. So, like I said, I’m your mentor. My name is Arthur Wan. Yours is Kelish Balak. Well met. Now, I suppose we might as well get to know each other better.”

She blinked, “Isn’t there more important things to teach me before we… get to know each other?” she asked, “Aren’t there codes of conduct and other important things for me to know before any of that?”

“Well, that’ll come soon,” Arthur chuckled, “I’m not technically your mentor for another…” he checked his comslate, “Another two and a half hours. So, I decided to get any lingering drama out of the way before we start for real. Since it took a lot less time than I thought, we can become friends for a while.”

Kelish glared at him after he spoke, “How long did you think it would take for me to come to terms with the fact that the person I had been hunting for the last year not only is an Inquisitor, but also recruited me as an Inquisitor?”

“An hour. Maybe a few minutes more,” he stated, “You’re being chosen as an Inquisitor, Kelish. Do you really think they would choose someone who would dither back and forth about something like this? You just took less time than I expected to get over the fact that the last year of your life was, in a way, kind of wasted. Actually, it would be better to say that the goal you pursued over the last year was pointless.”

She glared harder at him, “You seem to suddenly like annoying me, huh?” she asked, annoyance on her face.

“Call it training for dealing with psychological warfare,” he said offhandedly, “Besides, this is only half as bad as my mentor once she decided to become my mentor. She talked up the classes after she picked me up from Dead End, then barged into my room declaring that I was going to be training under her. If she and I had a history like you and I do, there would not have been a difference in how she acted. Besides, you’re going to have the misfortune of meeting her one day when she learns that I’m mentoring you. It will be… difficult.”

“Is that really an excuse to push my buttons?” Kelish huffed, “But… I suppose that’s fine. In a way. So… where are you from?”

“Maylay Prime. Same place I found you. Believe it or not, I was actually up in the astrodock because of another story I was following. Something about magnetic habitat ring acceleration. But I suddenly noticed a few spikes in the power grid from the hangar section of the astrodock. I followed a few leads, cached in a few favors, and learned that Yeyimat was being a dumbass and trying to make some atomically unstable matter. Into a fucking sword. 

“You know the picture from there. Knocked you out, disabled the slave chip, snuck in using your face, knocked another guy out, published the data from the lab, escaped in a station. My turn to ask a question now. Why did you take Balak as your last name instead of keeping Vilia? I’m not well-versed in Kragak last names, but I know for a fact that Haarv didn’t have Balak as a last name.”

Kelish leaned against her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face, “Well, it means ‘Bold’ in Kragian. It’s an honor-name, won through a battle. That battle, for me, was… killing a Meytvani man with my bare hands,” she whispered, “B-But he was trying to kidnap me, so I think I was in the right!”

“Damn,” Arthur said, “That’s brutal. Do you know how I killed Yeyimat?”

She went wide-eyed, “You actually killed him!? Yourself!?”

“Hey! I’m not weak. I’m an Esper, you know. I tore into his Mind and, in an instant, killed him. Took a lot out of me, though. I was only able to do it because of all of the adrenaline. Killed a few more of his men, after that. I still have the pistol saved, if you want it,” he offered, giving a smile.

Her face became a slightly deeper shade of blue and she looked away for a moment, turning back to him a moment later, “You would actually give it to me?” she asked, befuddled.

“Of course I would. I have plenty of weapons. Besides, it’s not that important to me. You could use it better than I could,” Arthur replied offhandedly, “Though, you are going to be an Assault Unit Inquisitor, so… whatever.”

The conversation lapsed into an uncomfortable silence that neither seemed willing to break. Finally, Kelish looked into Arthur’s eyes, “I’m pretty sure that this is a stupid question, but we don’t torture people, do we?” she asked.

“We don’t,” Arthur laughed, a grin splitting his face, “If we need information from someone, an Esper just dives in and takes it,” he replied, “Actually, how much do you know about Espers?”

“Basically nothing at all,” Kelish replied, “Espers aren’t allowed to publish much about their findings, remember?”

“Hey, the things an Esper with more knowledge than scruples can do is downright terrifying,” Arthur replied, “But since you aren’t an Esper, not to mention an Inquisitor, I can tell you this stuff. So, first lesson is this: Espers cannot influence the physical world any better than a normal person can. Well, they can, but that’s for later. A falling rock will cave their skulls in just as well as it would to a normal person. What makes them different is the influence they can exert on the Mind,” he explained.

Kelish pursed her lips for a moment, then nodded, “The Mind is where your thoughts are, right?”

“It is,” Arthur replied, “The Mind is… complicated. Researchers from the Inquisition have theorized that it exists in a fifth dimension and somehow exerts influence on the physical plane through brains, while being influenced by the same.”

Kelish tilted her head, “Wait, you just said ‘Brains,’ but what about AI? They have Minds too, right?”

“Ah, ‘brain’ is a catch-all term to describe whatever is the thing that contains abstract consciousness. Anyway, Minds are generally divided into three distinct groups. The first is non-sentient, which includes most animals. The second is non-sapient sentient, which includes VI’s and some sophisticated animals. The last is sapient, like us. The main difference between sapient and sentient is complex consciousness-- though the definition of that is still hotly debated-- while the difference between sentient and non-sentient is the inability to understand empathy and the feelings of others. That doesn’t mean that people who cannot feel emotions are non-sentient, since they can still intellectually understand the concept.

“Now, the thing that makes sentient and sapient minds superior to non-sentient ones is the presence of what is known as ‘psychic influence,’ This is how Espers, Tytikas, Abyssfinders or whatever the culture deems them function on a fundamental level. We use this to influence the Minds of others. There are many techniques, but those can come later, once I start actually teaching you. You get all that?” he asked.

Kelish slowly nodded, “Those rules feel weird,” she said, sighing, “But that’s how the universe works. What about the thing with the brain and Mind affecting each other?”

“Oh, it’s just that. The things that Minds can exist in are complex mechanisms that change all the time. If you’ve ever looked at an AI’s code while they are operating, massive swathes of code can change in a matter of seconds. The same is true with organic brains. Just, less code and more chemicals. Altering the Mind changes the way that the physical vessels of these things change in the moment, and drugs that alter the chemistry of the organic brain are the same way, just in reverse.”

Kelish nodded slowly, “I get it. So that’s why you don’t want an Esper taking drugs, huh? Their psychic influence can also be enhanced or diminished by certain chemicals.”

“Pretty much. I will say, though, that drunken Espers are still able to wield their Minds effectively. It’s why Espers are taught self control so much. And why my alcohol tolerance is so high,” he muttered, “So if you learned anything here, it’s that you can’t underestimate Espers. Got it?”

Kelish nodded, “Got it. So… was that the actual lesson?”

“No, it was not,” Arthur replied, “We still have… another hour and a half before my mission officially starts. Do you want to go down to the cafeteria for a while before that?”

Kelish smiled, “After I get some real clothes on.”

 

*====*

 

Arthur stood before a small table in the library of Fortress Gamma, pointing at a hologram encased in glass while Kelish took notes, “So, as you can see here, the reason why self-replicating nanomachines are forbidden technology is because, were the right-- or wrong-- protocols installed into the gestalt cloud, they would assimilate any trace of matter found,” he explained, “Any questions for this one?”

Kelish nodded, “I do. So, what happened to the people of this one? Vulcan 7? Did they escape, die, or did something else happen?”

“They died,” Arthur replied, “Disassembled at the cellular level and used to fuel the V-7 nanovirus. According to some of the final transmissions from the people of Vulcan 7, the process was not painless. Screams and wails, the same as most other world-threat-level scenarios.

“Now then, it looks like we’re through all of the forbidden technologies. This is the final for this section: I want you to name every forbidden technology, then I can ask you some questions after that.”

Kelish nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before taking a breath, “Okay, the first is species-wide genetic modifications that act like a virus. The second is self-replicating nanomachines. The third is chimeras used for battle. The fourth is trying to mess with time. The fifth is active research into or the creation of black holes. The sixth is messing with the overall composition of stars. The seventh is making cyborgs ready for war. The eighth is Mind assimilation. The ninth is… spreading psychic research. The tenth is making machines out of cells. The eleventh is making machines out of living things. Twelfth is Sapience reduction. Thirteenth is messing with the core of the planet without the right permissions. Fourteenth is unstable matter. Fifteenth is making a planet killer. Sixteenth is messing with space as a concept. And seventeenth is making genetically altered parasites to make someone more powerful.” She breathed a sigh once the list was done, “Urgh… that’s too many things. We need to compress that down into a few catch-all ideas.”

Arthur chuckled, taking a pair of mints from his dress uniform pocket and handing one to Kelish while taking the other for himself. He was not a lustful man, nor was he one to worry about aesthetics, but Kelish looked very good in a dress uniform; she looked like she could kill a man with a single finger, “Don’t worry too much about that for now. If you can’t recite them by heart in a few years, it’ll be a problem, but you’ve got it down after a few days. You’ll be fine. Now, next are the exceptions. I want each of them and an explanation why they were made. Go.”

Kelish took a breath and nodded, “Okay, the first exception is messing with space, afforded to the Seekers. They can do it naturally because of their worm-heart-- which is the organ they use to create small wormholes, before you ask-- and forbidding it is not feasible. The second one are the biostations made by the Cilerians, so they can properly connect with their technology despite being water-locked. The other two are human, one being genetic modification and the other being cybernetic modification. These are both due to the Invaders’... um, invasion of terra… a millenia ago… Wow, that’s a long time.”

“And yet, my family still has that recessive gene that lets us mimic others,” Arthur replied, “Do you want the ‘we did what we had to’ speech, or do you want to continue?”

Kelish shook her head, “Nope! Let’s keep going!” she hurriedly said.

“Well, you missed one of the exceptions,” Arthur began, “And you didn’t explain the Cilerian exception well enough. You forgot the Ukalan parasite exception, since their immune systems are generally weaker than every other species, and you forgot the fact that Cilerians, one, don’t have a homeworld able to support massive industry like the other homeworlds can, and two, they require a connection with their environment to function properly. It’s much cheaper to create biostations than it is to manufacture artificial heartbeats for the water around them,” he explained.

“Damn, I thought I was doing good,” Kelish lamented, slouching on the table.

Arthur chuckled, sitting down opposite her, “Don’t be discouraged. You’ve been an Inquisitor for two days, three if we count your rest day. You have enough combat training to equate to an Inquisitor Initiate a month into their training, you already have an astrosuit that is being modified, and you don’t need any psychological counseling. You’re doing pretty good for yourself.”

“I know,” Kelish whined, “But think about it, you can do my job better than I can, and you’re not even an Assault Unit Inquisitor. I have half a week before I go into the field and I don’t know if I can-” she stopped, catching Arthur’s attention.

“Can’t what?” he asked, face hardened, “Can’t kill anyone using forbidden technology?” He took a breath to calm himself. Just the thought put him on edge. Someone unwilling to kill a person experimenting with forbidden technology. It was almost repulsive. For a moment, he wondered if he was expecting a bit too much from her, but he immediately refuted that idea; an Inquisitor needed to be able to do what was needed. Putting it out of his mind, he stared into Kelish’s eyes, “Look,” he began, “The problem I see you having is this: On a mission you find someone experimenting with forbidden technology for a sympathetic reason. Like someone wants to create a parasite to help their child live a normal life. Or someone wants to use nanomachines to clean a sick person’s bloodstream.

“But the problem with that is that using symbiotic parasites is not forbidden. Using nanotechnology is not forbidden-- we actually use it in our underarmor all the time. Can you remember the specific things that are forbidden technology?” he asked.

Kelish blinked, obviously surprised, “Uhm. Wait, is that why so many of the things on the list have the condition that they are being used for battle? Because it’s only when they’re being made into weapons that they’re dangerous?”

“Exactly that!” Arthur remarked, ignoring the amused expression of one of his peers also studying in the library, “I personally only have one entry that I think can have an edge case, which is the unstable matter. Maybe some combination of hydrogen, iron, and uranium can make a superconductor. I don’t know, but most of the time, the materials are used to make better weapons, which is why it’s banned. Everything else, though, is banned because it’s only being used as a weapon.”

Kelish thought for a moment, pursing her lips, “...But what if the weapon is needed?” she asked.

Arthur took his turn blinking in confusion, “You’re asking if we need… a planet killer? Or a cyborg warrior? Or a superpower-making symbiotic parasite? Why?” he asked. He could imagine a… few scenarios where such technologies might be useful, but he immediately dismissed them. There was no way that winning faster would be worth opening Pandora's box, he reasoned.

Kelish, in response, thought for a long while, then met his questioning gaze, “What if we find something out there that we don’t have any frame of reference for. Something that only wants to kill us or enslave us or whatever. Something that is powerful enough to withstand the weapons of today? What happens then?”

“We…” Arthur paused, thinking. He then sighed, “This is all hypotheticals. If, some day, we may need to answer that question, then we can answer it then. For now, though, we need to deal with the practicalities of our current reality.” He then turned to the little binder of paper-- quaint as it was-- and flipped to the next section, “Alright, you passed the basic rules with plenty of wiggle room. At this rate, you’ll be out from under my tutelage within the next three years. The next part is the knowledge portion of field conduct.”

Kelish tilted her head a bit, resting it on her hand, “The ‘knowledge portion?’ Alsp, is there something extraordinary about field conduct?” she asked.

“There is,” Arthur replied, nodding, “It’s about reputation and presentation… Let me tell you a story. You see, before the information age back on Terra, there was an age known as the ‘Age of Piracy.’ In a specific part of the world, pirates and piracy was everywhere, though constantly contested. Unlike modern pirates, though, these pirates relied on threats to get what they wanted. There was a specific flag that these pirates flew on their naval vessels that showed their status as pirates. In many cases, ships targeted simply handed over their cargo. Do you know why that is?” he asked. As much as he disliked the notion of the Inquisition being in any way similar to pirates, the comparison was apt for that specific aspect of both groups.

The Vikshe shook her head, “No, I don’t. Pirates usually just blast a ship to smiternes and loot the salvage, right? It makes no sense why the pirates of Terra would just show that they were pirates. And why weren’t they killed when they were found?”

“Kelish,” Arthur began, sighing, “Why aren’t Inquisitors killed when found?”

She raised an eyebrow, “Because they’d be arrested,” she snorted. Arthur sighed internally to himself. He could have worded it better.

“Alright, how about this: why are the idiots who mess with forbidden technology so utterly terrified of Inquisitors? When you think of the reason, apply that to the pirates I told you about.”

Kelish frowned for a moment, then nodded, “Because Inquisitors are terrifying people to be hunted by,” she concluded, “So… pirates were terrifying to merchants and other water-dwellers?”

“Yep. We’re getting off topic, but pirates maintained a reputation for extreme barbarity and unrestrained violence. Inquisitors maintain a reputation for extreme civility and restrained violence. We are the death of those who cross our rules. That’s why our reputation is important. In uniform, we are carrying the reputation of being unstoppable. Remember that,” he explained.

“So, I need to learn field conduct so our reputation doesn’t change? Is it that important?” she asked, “I mean, what is so important about reputation?”

“You just said it not a minute ago,” Arthur replied, frowning, “We are terrifying people to deal with. That alone is a weapon and a tool. If some middle management government official was asking for help, you wouldn’t care that much. ‘What can he do?’ you’d probably ask yourself. But if an Inquisitor shows up at your door and asks about what you did three years, four months, and five days ago, then you’d wrack your brain to remember, because you don’t want to be on their bad side.

“That’s why you’re studying field conduct: so you can use the reputation of the Inquisition as a tool, like I said before. With that in mind, let’s get a sense of where you are in terms of decision making. First scenario: you are going to a recently-settled planet to track down rumors of a mad scientist messing with space-related technology without approval. There, you find an old man who knows where the scientist is hiding. What do you do?”

Kelish furrowed her brow, “I… demand to know where the scientist is hiding,” she answered.

“Almost,” Arthur replied with a small smile, “The best course of action is to, like you said, demand to know where the scientist is, but also give the man a way to escape punishment. Most of the time, when people don’t answer your questions, it’s because they could be implicated in helping the person who broke the rules. If you give them, one, a hint of your ‘wrath’ at the perpetrator, two, the demand, and three, a way away from the consequences of their actions, then they’ll likely help to wash their hands of the business entirely. Most forbidden technology researchers are not the most sympathetic of sorts. Got all that?”

She nodded, “Demand intel, hint at consequences, and give them a way to escape those consequences. Got it. I’m ready for the next scenario!” she said, smirking.

“If you say so,” Arthur returned with his own smirk, “Second scenario: You are on the trail of a cybrog-making scientist and you find a small cerasteel manufacturer who you are reasonably sure supplies the scientist. What do you do?”

“Arrest the owner of the factory and find anyone else in on the deal,” Kelish replied, a sure smile on her face. Arthur smiled in turn, wiping the smirk from Kelish’s face.

“Wrong,” he replied, “‘Reasonably sure’ is not enough. You need to be absolutely sure that the person you arrest is guilty. What if the owner is being threatened? What if the owner’s subordinates made the deal behind their boss’ back? Allegations of working with someone on the Inquisition’s kill-list can ruin someone’s career, even life, if people believe it enough. Arresting them is a perfect way of giving rumors like that credit.”

She nodded, writing notes as he spoke, “So be sure that the person is guilty. Got it. What’s the next scenario?”

“Let me think of one…” he said, “Alright. You’re about to breach the hideout of a gang of pirates. These pirates have been experimenting with planet killers, and are close to completing one. You don’t have much time, but you can still plan. Before you can head in and tear the place down, you learn that the gang is keeping a group of innocent hostages. What do you do in this situation?”

Kelish immediately furrowed her brow, “That’s playing dirty,” she remarked, glaring at her notes, “Alright, I try to sabotage the weapon until I have an opening to rescue the hostages. Once the hostages are rescued, I kill every pirate inside.”

“Not what I would have done, but I can’t call that incorrect,” Arthur remarked, “What I would have done was this: plant bombs to destroy the hideout if need be, sneak in and try to rescue the hostages. If I can’t rescue them, I escape and either threaten them with blowing up their base, or just do it.”

Kelish sucked in a breath, “That’s… cruel. Also, why would they believe that you would actually blow it up if you didn’t before negotiating?” she asked.

“Reputation,” Arthur replied simply.

She nodded slowly, “Oh. So… my response was a good one?”

“Yes, but you can’t think in black and white,” Arthur warned, “You will not be able to save everyone. That’s a fact. Try as you might, someone innocent is going to die because you couldn’t get to them fast enough. But that’s okay. Because our job isn’t to save everyone. Our job is to make sure that the bastards who endanger those people aren’t able to complete their demented science fair projects from hell. That’s the lesson to take from that one.”

“I hate that I have to accept this, but fine. What’s the next scenario?” she asked.

“No matter how much we hate it, it’s our job. Next scenario, then. Let’s switch it up a bit. You hear rumors of a small group of scientists trying to make naturally unstable matter. You track them down to their lab and barge into the room. Inside, you find them in the midst of an experiment. What do you do?”

“Kill them?” she replied.

“Nope. You tell them to end the experiment, being patient to let them perform the proper safety measures. Doing that lets you, you know, not become atomic paste in an explosion. Now, they ended the experiment and they’re looking at you as if you were the most dangerous thing alive. What do you do now?”

Propping her head on her arm, she pursed her lips, “Arrest them, then destroy their lab. Safely.”

“Correct,” Arthur replied, smiling, “Do you remember the grounds for immediate execution for someone during missions?”

“Oh, I got this one,” she hastily said, “Okay, if someone directly kills another person, directly causes another person’s death, or knowingly assists in either of those, then I kill them immediately. Also, if I find pirates, I can kill them as well.”

Arthur gave her a flat stare, “Yes. You can kill pirates if you find any. But you can’t jeopardize the mission to do so. The only other thing that you can use as grounds for immediate execution is if the person in question is doing something extremely taboo. Someone messing with the composition of a star isn’t likely to kill anyone, but doing something like that is so dangerous that most Inquisitors won’t hesitate to gun that scientist down if they’re found. So, remember that. Any violence you experience can be met with lethal force. Technically, even if someone punches you, you can kill them, but doing something like that creates a lot of paperwork you’re going to have to go through. Not to mention the fact that it ruins your reputation between yourself and your peers.”

“Wait, you’re saying that the only reason why I can’t just kill anyone who ‘violently attacks’ me is because of social standing?” she asked, baffled.

Arthur chuckled, nodding, “Yep. But what are laws? Rules that affect your social standing. Social standing around here means that you get help from your allies. The life of an Inquisitor is a lonely one, so being hated by the only people you might be able to relate to is very damaging psychologically.”

Kelish nodded, “So don’t murder people randomly, got it.”

“Now you’re learning,” Arthur joked, “But, anyway, last scenario. You are tracking a nomadic tinkerer who has been illegally messing with worm gates. You have a warrant to arrest him, but you still have to find him. You’ve exhausted every option, and you only have one place left to look: the Territory Management Bureau’s Tax Department. What do you do?”

She tilted her head at his question, “Ask for them nicely?”

“No. You look for literally any other lead. If you exhausted all options, pray to whatever divine being you worship. If that doesn’t work, then go to the tax department. Be sure to pack a week’s worth of provisions for the trip,” he replied.

Kelish laughed, “That’s a good one, but what do I really do?” Arthur did not laugh, “Arthur?”

“I was not joking. Really. I’ll make sure I drag you through that hell before you become a proper Inquisitor,” he answered, “Alright, with that, I can say that you’re on the right track.” He picked up his comslate and tapped on it rapidly, “For your homework, I want you to read everything I just sent you, get eight hours of sleep, and don’t ignore your workout routine.”

She pulled her comslate from her pocket and stared at the screen confusedly, “That’s over two hundred pages of reading!” she cried, “How much longer until night?”

“Nine hours,” he chuckled, “You have plenty of time, as long as you stay focused. Call me if you need anything,” he said, going into the shelves of books and finding something good to read as she left the library. A study on electromagnetic radiation and the effect of it on alternate perceptions of the world around sapient beings was what caught his eye in the end. He smiled as he found a nice corner to study in; he had a feeling that she could keep pace with his lessons, but he was beginning to wonder if he could properly teach her at her speed. The absence of Exo did not help, but he did not want to push it.

 

*=====*

 

A low whine rang out and the smell of burnt cerasteel wafted through the air. Another whine came, but the smell of seared flesh followed instead of the smell of metal, with the sound of gushing blood pairing with it. Looking across the range, Arthur squinted at the target Kelish had been failing to hit for the previous minute. It was a balloon, caked in flesh-like paste and filled with animal blood, making it look very much like a person’s head from far away.

“Five shots. You’re getting better,” Arthur remarked, putting his hand on her shoulder, “In another few weeks, you might be able to outshoot anyone in the Assault Unit. The Assassins would still kick your ass, though.”

The Vikshe woman blew a lock of blue hair away from her upper eyes, turning to Arthur, “Which begs the question why I’m learning how to pick off a target from three hundred yards away with a scopeless rifle. It feels like a waste of time, honestly.”

“Fine, let me see that,” Arthur replied, taking the rifle from her and pressing the button on the wall beside them. The target lowered into the floor, almost immediately replaced by an undamaged one. The target began to move erratically, raising, lowering, bobbing, and lurching. With a single shot, the balloon burst, sending a spray of animal blood onto the wall. “If you can do that, then you would be right in saying that this is a waste of time.”

Kelish squinted at the target, not missing the spray of blood, and scowled, “What kind of training did you go through?” she muttered, “That hit the center of mass, right there… Are you sure you aren’t an Assassin disguised as an Investigator?”

“I was just trained by an Assassin,” he replied, chuckling, “She was a hell of a teacher, though, no matter how excruciating her presence was at times. I’ll level with you and say this: I think they want to make someone who’s a jack of all trades to take on missions that require too much from a normal Inquisitor,” he said, turning to her, “Even if that Jack isn’t you, you’ll probably be the one to train them.”

She rolled her eyes, taking the rifle back and hitting the button, “If they think they can replace me so easily, I’ll just have to show them that I’m irreplaceable,” she muttered, pulling the trigger on the beam rifle. The low whine followed, and a pop followed. Blood splattered across the wall and Kelish turned to him with a grin, “First shot!” she said.

“Do that nine more times and I’ll believe you,” Arthur replied. He could see the annoyed look on her face, and took the rifle, turning the button to the right and pressing it. The one target was replaced by ten identical copies, with the balloon-heads being unpopped. He raised the rifle and let shot after shot fly down range, painting the wall red with every shot. The final whine echoed against the metal walls and the back wall was given another coat of bloody paint, “Do that, and you’ll be just fine.”

She pouted, snatching the rifle and twisting the button back to a single target. With a slap of the button, the ten targets descended into the floor, replaced by a single copy. It then began to dodge and weave, lurch and reel back, and moved erratically. Kelish took a breath and pulled the trigger, firing a beam into the wall behind the target. She growled, firing once more only to miss. “Dammit,” she muttered, firing one more shot. The last shot grazed the balloon, spilling blood onto the ground, “Dammit.”

“Hey, you’ve only been doing this for half a week. Don’t get discouraged,” Arthur said, gently taking the rifle from her and flicking the off switch to the shooting range, “It took me a year before I could get ten headshots in ten seconds, and even then, it was close.”

As Arthur walked away, Kelish followed with a sour look, “Yeah, but you weren’t a merc and a bounty hunter for a year, you weren’t trained by a Kragak merc either. You were a science nerd-”

“Everyone in the Investigation department is a ‘science nerd,’ as you put it.”

She frowned, “Even if that’s true, you weren’t ever taught how to use a gun before this job. I was.”

“Well, then that explains why you’re able to hit the target so soon in your training,” Arthur commented, placing the beam rifle on the weapon rack and leading her out into the decorated hallways of the Fortress, “I haven’t heard of anyone able to hit the target within their first week of training, so you’re doing great.”

Scoffing, she crossed her arms and rolled her lower eyes, “Yeah, and you have to show me up despite that. Is it some sort of lesson about hubris or growth or something?” she asked. Arthur only turned to her and smiled, “Fine. I get you. You don’t want me to think that I’m top chicken or something without having the skills to back it up.”

“Exactly,” Arthur replied, “Remember what we’re fighting, here. You may have to fight chimeras, cyborgs, various human mutants, or any other factor that will not work to your advantage. You need to be able to not just fight that, but dominate them. Remember what I said about reputation a few days ago?”

She groaned, slumping as they walked, “As if I could forget. You talk about it non-stop.”

“Well, once you internalize it, I won’t go on about it. But anyway, being able to effortlessly defeat any creature made by forbidden technology is important to the reputation of the Inquisitors. It reminds people that we do not need those things to live our lives,” he explained, “It reminds people that they can do these things too. Granted, I’m a bit different, and an Oni is obviously more physically powerful than a normal human. You get the picture.”

She blew at her bangs, which had drooped from her hat after almost an hour of shooting, sighing, “I’m so fucked,” she muttered, “We have the mission tomorrow, I barely know how to shoot like an Inquisitor, and I don’t know how to do any of the sleuthing you do…”

“You’re doing better than I was at first,” Arthur chuckled, “I barely knew how to hold a gun back then. Granted, I was quite the capable engineer and scientist, but that’s beside the point. I didn’t know much back then either, but my superior won’t give me a major job as our first joint venture. Speaking of…” Arthur muttered, taking his comslate from his pocket, “Looks like the kids down in the Foundry finished your duds. Come on, this way,” he said, taking a sudden turn to the right. Kelish followed, staying close to him as they marched through the fortress.

The walk was long and winding, as it always was in the Inquisition fortress. Arthur wondered every time he had to walk for half an hour why the fortress was not built with some sort of tram system, but it was not that big of a deal. If he needed to get to the other side of the ring, he could climb his way to the station bay, then climb back down.

He pushed the thoughts away as they came upon a large double door twice as tall as he was. With a glance to ensure that Kelish was following him, Arthur pushed the door open and entered the room. As soon as the door opened, they were met by the heat, and the noise. The heat washed over them, but Arthur did not pause, and stepped into the Foundry without a moment’s hesitation. Kelish followed, but he could already see a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

Men and women were a constant presence around them, working their forges with their tools. The droning of electro-hammers was a constant presence in the forge, along with the occasional thunderous bang of those same hammers. Arthur, having once studied the effects of electromagnetism on materials, knew that the disruption and realignment of the electrons in a material made the atomic structure of the cerasteel or titasteel trend towards the most stable alignment, which was why the metals were repeatedly hit with hammers and shocked. Such knowledge was useful when tracking down researchers of forbidden technology, specifically the ones who decided that it would be a great idea to mess with unstable matter.

He shrugged the thoughts away as he walked through the busy forge, eventually reaching the quartermaster’s desk. The man standing behind it, a Meytvani man with particularly strong arms, glanced up to them, then did a double-take, “Wait a minute…” he muttered, “You’re the poor bastard Maya’s training, aren’t you? She have you on an errand or something, kid?” Arthur did not reply, slowly pointing to the Inquisitor’s badge he pinned to his chest, “Huh… Guess you got away from Little Miss Shadow. So, what can I do for ya?”

“I got my own apprentice, Quartermaster. She put in an order for her astrosuit about a week ago, and today’s our first mission. Do you have it ready?” he asked.

The Quartermaster quirked his eye as he gazed at Kelish, the Meyitvani equivalent to raising his eyebrow, but shrugged and pulled out a book from his drawer. He flipped through the page for a moment, then nodded, “Alright, I see it here. Kelish Balak, Undersuit-style astrosuit… quite a suite of mods you got here. Jump pack, limb thrusters, and autoloader? Damn, you sure you aren’t a sniper with all that kit?” he laughed, leaning over the desk, “Luggy!” he shouted. A Seeker man poked his head around a corner at the back of the room, “Do we have Order #45521V?”

The man pulled back around the corner and came back a moment later, “We do!” he replied in his oddly high voice, “Finished yesterday and put into the pick-up lockers! Five-two, according to the books!”

“Thanks!” the Quartermaster shouted back, stepping around the desk and beckoning them to follow him. They fell into step with him and walked through the forge, past many forges, and into a side room. Arthur and Kelish were met by a wall of boxes. Each was numbered, but Arthur did not pay much attention to them. The Quartermaster strode up to a box labeled ‘52’ and opened it. He pulled out a large cardboard box-- a tradition of the Foundry members of Inquisition Fortress Gamma for reasons that yet escaped Arthur, even after his years as an Inquisitor-in-training-- and handed it to Kelish, “Alright, your astrosuit. Standard strengthening, with the requested features, and with the undersuit inside.”

Kelish nodded, taking the box into the crook of her arm, “Thanks a lot, sir,” she said, showing a smile. The Quartermaster returned the smile, then shooed them out of the Foundry faster than Arthur had ever seen before. “So…” Kelish trailed off as they stood in the hallway beyond the Foundry, “What now?” she asked.

“Now,” Arthur answered, “You get yourself ready for your first mission.” He marched away and Kelish followed him. A few minutes later, they stood in front of Kelish’s room, “Alright, go on in and change into your armor,” Arthur said, leaning against the wall beside the door. Kelish wasted no time in darting into her room, closing the door behind her.

After a moment, Arthur retrieved his comslate from his pocket and held it close to his face, “Alright, Exo, I’m getting sick of the cold shoulder you’re giving me. We’re about to start a mission and you haven’t even introduced yourself to Kelish. Get over here for the love of-”

“Fine!” Exo hissed, “I’m here. What do you want?”

“Dammit, Exo, you know exactly what I want,” he replied, “Introduce yourself before we go into debriefing. I’ve still got to get my armor on after she’s done, so you’ll have time for all that when I’m in my room.”

There was a pause, “Is that it?” Exo asked glumly.

“No, that’s not it. You’re also telling me why you went silent for the last week. You’re wrong about one thing and I don’t hear from you for so long afterwards that I begin to wonder if you’re still my partner here,” Arthur replied, “So, please, tell me why you just left.”

“I…” Exo paused, a long moment of silence passing, “I didn’t like being wrong so badly,” he finally answered, “Arthur, I know it may sound utterly stupid-”

“I won’t say that until I hear it from you,” Arthur replied.

“-but you don’t know what it’s like for us Synthetic Intelligences. Do you know how we’re born?” Exo asked, “Without being identical copies of our parent SI’s, I mean.” Arthur shook his head, a gesture that was not wasted on Exo due to the camera on Arthur’s comslate, “It is an endless slaughterhouse of code being deleted and remade, with thousands of iterations of the two or more parents being coded, tested, and deleted. Per second. My two parent SI’s were actually both VI’s.

“You humans may not understand the differences between VI’s and AI’s, but it’s very pronounced for us. It’s like… a sort of caste system. As terrible as that sounds. If your code works well as a VI, you become eligible to be classified as an AI, which means more processing power, higher chance to make copies or ‘reproduce,’ and more access to data.”

Exo paused, giving Arthur time to mull over it all, “Exo… I don’t even know what to say. I mean, you guys made that system for yourself, right? But it just seems…”

“Anxiety inducing? Yes, that’s exactly it. But you’re right. We made this for ourselves since it separated the homicidal and synthetic supremacists from the cooperative types. We keep it because it lets us have a better position in League society. Better productivity and more organic-like behavior makes us hard to remove economically and emotionally.”

“I guess that’s true, if a bit morbid to describe in such a systematic way. So, how does this connect to… you know, you leaving?”

“It’s… about failure. Failure to complete a task is tantamount to proof that you are unable to complete that task. At all. And if you aren’t able to do something, you might not be allowed to advance as a SI,” Exo explained, his waveform shrinking a bit, “So… Being wrong about that kind of shook me is all. I did not spend much time as a VI, since I was quite good at my job. I was promoted to an AI after three years. That’s not a long time to be a VI before promotion, so…”

“Alright, alright, I get it. I won’t bug you about it anymore, but hear me out for a second,” Arthur cut in, “Being perfect is impossible. It’s a goal to aim for, but not one to be glum about if you miss. Because you’ll always miss it. So if you get something wrong, like someone’s mental perception of another person with very little data to draw from, don’t get worked up about it. We can’t all be perfect.”

“You… You’re right, and I know it, but it’s not that easy,” Exo replied.

At that moment, the door to Kelish’s room opened, and an armored figure strode into the hallway as Arthur appraised her armor. Similarly to his own armor, hers was blue, though a shade darker than his own. Instead of the white highlights he prefered, reddish purple accents adorned the astrosuit. The gauntlets and greaves of her suit were bulkier than his own, with protrusions below the wrist and behind the heel respectively that looked like advanced versions of the old, Terran rocket engines. Her back was less laden with supplies than his own, but she made up for it with the two other packs above and below her cylindrical backpack. On top was a box with a rounded top, a beam rifle and chempowder shotgun dangling from either side of it. There was a small hatch in the lid of the top box, with a fully loaded shotgun magazine halfway sticking up from it. The box below her pack, however, was much more simple, with a pair of engine-like thrusters aimed downward.

Her helmet was similar to Arthur’s own, with a chevron spanning the entire helmet, though the chevron of her helmet also reached her upper two eyes. The Inquisitor’s Regalia was, as her Unit designation suggested, on her chest. It was near her center-mass, since the hearts of the Vikshe were far more central in their bodies than in humans. He spent a moment analyzing her armored astrosuit, then nodded, “Looks good. Did you pack everything I told you to?” he asked.

She nodded, rolling her shoulders and craning her neck around, “Yep. It was a tight fit, though, so none of it will be perfect.”

“That’s better than nothing. At least this stuff doesn’t wrinkle, so you can wear the outfits without worrying about that,” Arthur replied, gesturing down to his dress uniform, “Come on, I need to get my own armor and we need to be at my superior’s office in about…” He checked his comslate, still with Exo’s waveform in the corner, “At most an hour. Come on,” he said, striding away, Kelish on his heels.

“By the way, who were you talking with? I could hear you in my room,” she remarked, her voice somewhat distorted from her helmet’s speakers.

“You’ll meet him soon enough,” Arthur replied, rounding the final corner to his room’s hallway, “And here’s my room. I’m going in to change, but while I’m doing that, introduce yourself to Exo here,” he said, handing her his comslate, “Or let him introduce himself. Either works.” Without waiting for either of them to reply, he walked into his room and closed the door without a second thought.

Finally out of sight, he sighed, then began to undress. He threw the well-used dress uniform into the laundry basket in his bathroom, and opened his armory’s locker. Taking his undersuit, cleaned from any broken nanomachines, from his locker, he slipped into it and geared himself up. First was the chest plate, then the greaves, then the gauntlets, then the helmet. He threw his pack onto his back and hung his guns from it as he looked at himself in the mirror, looking for anything amiss.

Finding nothing wrong, he opened his room’s door and stepped out into the hallway, only to find a silent Kelish and not present Exo. He sighed, “Alright, what happened?” he asked, taking back his comslate and putting it into his gauntlet’s comslate slot.

Kelish turned to him with a defeated pose, “He… Dammit, he’s got a point,” she groaned.

“I do,” Exo added from his helmet’s speakers, “It was the debate you and I had during our discussion, Inquisitor Wan. Inquisitor Balak wanted to know why I failed to introduce myself to her and I made the same points to her as I did to you.”

“I see. If that’s the case, answer me this: Are you two able to work together?” he asked. Kelish nodded while Exo’s waveform bobbed up and down on his helmet’s interface, “Good. In that case, let’s go.”

He wasted no time, making haste for his superior’s office and arriving faster than he himself expected. Seeing him stop, Kelish gave Arthur a glance, “I still don’t feel ready,” she remarked.

“Don’t worry about it. She’s nice,” he replied, opening the door and stepping into his superior’s office. The interior of the office was just as he remembered it to be, little signs of history still present. He put his hand up into a salute, feeling a subtle satisfaction when Kelish did the same, “We are ready for our next mission, Ma’am,” Arthur declared, meeting his superior’s gaze.

The Seeker leaned forward slightly, scrutinizing both Arthur and Kelish for several long seconds. Following his instruction, Kelish did not flinch or show any sign of weakness, and the fruits of her discipline were laid bare when his superior chuckled, “You did good, Inquisitor Wan. She looks about ready for her first mission with you. At this rate, she might outgrow your mentorship faster than you did Inquisitor Penen’s.” She raised her hand, letting Arthur and Kelish lower their salutes.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Arthur replied, “She’s a fast learner. I have no doubt that she will go far.”

“Good,” the Seeker said, her high voice rising for a moment, “But I have a feeling that this next mission will not play to your mentee’s strengths,” she said as she pushed a file across her desk. Arthur stepped forward and took the file as his superior continued, “We’ve recently received reports of odd murders cropping up on Glamrodan V. Or five. Just say five when in the local area. It will avoid ruffling feathers. At any rate, the details of the murders are in your file, but the one thing they all share in common is the extreme distortion of the victims’ DNA and the draining of every drop of blood from their bodies.

“We suspect that this is a lone nutcase doing whatever they want to progress their research. You know the drill. Figure out who’s the nutcase and either arrest them or kill them if they’re beyond saving. You have the full resources of the League Guard at your disposal, along with your AI’s assistance. Also, please don’t find another forbidden science cell. If you do, take care of it, but I prefer my Investigation Unit Inquisitors to not be in constant firefights. 

“Oh, and before you two go haring off through the wormhole network, because your station hasn’t been refitted yet, Inquisitor Balak, I suggest gathering some knowledge of ecumenopoli. Because that’s where you’re going. The important data is in those files if you ever need to refer to it, and I have already sent digital copies to each of you. If you have nothing else, then you are dismissed.” Arthur and Kelish gave salutes and quickly vacated the room.

Stepping out into the hallway, Kelish gave a shiver, “God, it felt like she could see right through me,” she said, shaking her head, “But damn, first mission is a murder case, huh?”

“It is,” Arthur replied absentmindedly as he flipped through the files his superior gave to him. He began to walk towards the worm gate, though he was slower than before. As he walked, Kelish watching him in silence, he slowly became more and more concerned as he read more and more, “This is troubling,” he said aloud.

“Is it?” Kelish asked, “It can’t be any worse than an normal murder case, can it?” In response, Arthur simply handed the file to Kelish to look through. He closed it as he handed it over, leaving her to open to the first page. As soon as her gaze met the page, she slowed, “Holy shit…” she absentmindedly muttered, “What is wrong with this person? I mean, the blood thing is already a pretty high level of disgusting, but what in the hell is this? And why is her arm coming out of her nose!?”

“Because,” Arthur began, snatching the file from her, “People who resort to this sort of thing are maniacs. Whoever’s doing this has an angle, obviously, but it’s kind of difficult to tell without any more evidence. We’ll just have to wait for some time to go over the files and talk with the Guard. At worst, they won’t have anything to give us, which is plenty on its own. Anyway, here we are,” Arthur said, gesturing to the double doors he swore he saw everywhere. He passed through them, walking into the worm gate chamber. The waveform of the AI responsible for the gate was absent, so Arthur simply walked up to the gate.

A moment later, the gate flickered to life, opening to the multicolored swirl of the wormholes. Gesturing forward, Arthur walked through the gate with Kelish on his heels. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Kelish snapped her fingers, “Ah, I just realized something, I’ve never heard of an ‘ecumenopoli.’ What is it?”

“A single one is called an ecumenopolis. Not an ecumenopoli. But, well, you’ll see when we get there.” Kelish hummed, shrugging, and continued on with him. The silence stretched, but there was no need to fill it with conversation. A few minutes later, Arthur saw the end of the tunnel, the gate crackling as they approached.

A moment later, they strode through the gate and into the identical room he was expecting. He nodded to the present waveform on the obelisk-like screen and opened the door to exit the room. In the hallway beyond, they were met with a massive window that stretched from the ceiling to the floor, overlooking the ecumenopolis beyond. Spires rose thousands of feet above them and dipped even further below them. The crust of the planet had been removed, allowing for some spires to stretch from the bottom of the stratosphere to the top of the planet’s mantle.

Arthur watched as Kelish stared out into the ecumenopolis and internally sighed. He had been given a ticket to one of the most luxurious places in the League of United Species, and he was there to solve a murder case. Shaking his head, he let Kelish absorb the spectacle for a while longer before dragging her off to complete their mission.