In Memoria (40K)

[Dominus]

Ah, yes, there's nothing quite like overwhelming naval power. I do hope that you've got another big naval battle planned on the horizon, Overlord. It would be a shame to let all those fine vessels go to waste.

*Bows* You are the master at awing us with your command of massive overkill, IO.

[Imperial Overlord]

Looks awesome ... an entire battle fleet ... and a battle barge ... are the Grey Knights ready to rock or some other Astartes?

Two lean and shark-like Strike Cruisers from the Argent Flames Chapter lead the fleet,

[Jaevric]

Grey Knights are Daemonhunters. The Ordo Malleus probably wouldn't like loaning out "their" Space Marine chapter to the Ordo Hereticus without a damned good reason--and this doesn't call for the special skills of the Grey Knights.

Just a "regular" Space Marine Chapter should be sufficient, heh.

[Comosicus]

Looks awesome ... an entire battle fleet ... and a battle barge ... are the Grey Knights ready to rock or some other Astartes?

Two lean and shark-like Strike Cruisers from the Argent Flames Chapter lead the fleet,

My knowledge of the 40K universe is pretty slim ... just what I picked on this site. I thought battle barges are ships of the Space Marines ... Do other elements of Imperial power use them?

[Imperial Overlord]

Battle barges are Space Marine craft, as are strike cruisers (although Arbites also use strike cruisers). The chapter they are from, the Argent Flames, was already mentioned in the line with the strike cruisers..

[Imperial Overlord]

They met in a vaulted chamber in the Righteous Inquiry, part of a series of luxurious apartments fit for an Imperial Commander or an Inquisitor and her retinue. Golden cherubim held glow globes high in the air. Gold glittered on gilded icons and gold leaf decorations.

"I prefer the old you," said Kyra Neven. The senior inquisitor walked up to her former pupil and embraced him. "But I will settle for seeing you alive and well."

"Thank you," said Jolan. "As for myself, I can't wait to get back to being the old me."

"I was very pleased when that old reprobate Hethor contracted me. You know his wretched provincial accent comes and goes now?"

"He's been doing more undercover work, or was, before I had to pull the disappearing act."

"Are you sure it's that and not the aristo he's sleeping with?"

"Could be," said Jolan. "It has a been five years. How is Maladar? I expected to see evidence of his heavy hand around here."

"He went missing about four months after you did. Unlike you, no coded messages to indicate that he's okay."

"That's unfortunate. May the Emperor protect him, wherever he ends up."

"May the Emperor protect," she echoed.

"I don't look forward to writing the report on this mess."

"Report?" she scoffed. "Jolan, we are not only removing an Imperial Commander from office for heresy, but high ranking officials and officers who are allies, vassals, blood relations, or in some other way connected to him throughout the sector. We're investigating the Ecclesiarchy, Rogue Traders, and Inquisitors for possible corruption. And we're doing it while keeping our little reform project secret and intact, no mean feat considering we helped put a Levian and a member of one of their vassal families into power. There aren't going to be reports, there is going to be a Throne cursed symposium."

Jolan cursed under his breath. "Get your story straight, my boy. Excise any questionable parts. Fortunately, we pulled the dead body of a Thousand Sons sorcerer out of the wreckage which pretty much makes our accusations bullet proof and will tend to grant you extra leeway. Still, there is the little matter of Yardilon's death."

"That was regrettable," said Jolan. "She was very good at her job, her people quite competent. It's unfortunate that the Queen of Nightmares killed her."

"Even with all the fire being thrown around?"

"She was a potent sorcerer and had other heretic psykers in her service. One of them must have done it."

"Good," she said. "And Sevran Dask?"

"I tracked him as he rose to prominence and shadowed him. When he brushed against the Rising Phoenix I killed him and took his place so I could get to the heart of the conspiracy."

"Some to the puritans will still hate it," she said, "but that won't matter."'

"There's something else," he said. "Nathan appeared when they had me down, just before they would have finished me. I would have been dead three times over if he hadn't intervened."

"Definitely include it. The Thorians will lap it up."

"I know," he said. "I have answers that they'll like. Properly humble, invoking the wisdom and mysterious nature of our Emperor. I'm going to need time."

"It'll be a while before the symposium is assembled," she said. "Initial investigations of Javinne seem to indicate the heresy was confined to a small cult of influential people."

"Makes sense," said Jolan. "A large conspiracy risks exposure and the palace was set up to minimize the exposure of the uninitiated to the real heretics. The important places were compartmentalized. They don't need the pleebs to be followers, not at first. Countless regiments fought for Horus, believing they were fighting for the Emperor, during the Heresy. They just need enough leaders and a pretext if they wanted to start a segmentum wide civil war."

"Ambitious," she said. "And this place provided ships, funding, and whatever resources were needed to fuel their plots. The Rising Phoenix spreads heresy and disaster, unseating and killing others, and the Levians and their conspirators move in to handle to problems and inherit the mantle of power. An entire cult built on the competent and capable execution of useful failures."

"Yes," said Jolan. "And now the whole thing should fall to pieces and blown away on the wind. And something else will rise in its place."

"Until we finish rebuilding what Horus smashed. The Empire of Man, as it was intended to be, as it once was. Ave Imperator."

"Ave Imperator."

[Dominus]

Words fail me. This was awe-inspiring. And Kyra finally made her reappearance! Yes, I've been looking forward to this for a very long time.

Still, it was something of a bitter victory. Inquisitor Yardilon's death is sure to upset the the Monodominants and their useless ilk -- not that they need an excuse to be angry with Jolan, that is. Time for that bout of soul-searching on Jolan's part, ne?

But damn, so that was how the Rising Phoenix managed to amass so much power so quickly -- the Adraxian archaeotech and Jolan's reforms played right into their hands. Engineered disasters on other worlds so that the great and the good of Jivanne aristocracy could be placed in command and further spread the cancer. Ingenious, in a way, if not altogether insidious.

To repeat: unbelievably great work, IO. I look forward to the symposium. I do so enjoy internecine inquisitorial politicking. "Blood and iron" and all that...

[Imperial Overlord]

The bronze portal slid open as Jolan approached. "Why don't you come in," said Severa.

Jolan walked into her quarters. The door slid shut behind him. The admiral's quarters had decorated with a restrained hand, more interested in quality and functionality that conspicuous consumption. There was some restrained use of gold leaf on some of the lighting fixtures, but about it. The swords displayed on the wall, ranging from elegant Zadirey dueling blades to crude ork choppas, were far more reflective of the suit's owner. "It's good to see you again," he said. "I see admirals rate quarters as luxurious as inquisitors."

She embraced him gently. "I like the height, but the rest can go," she said.

"Emperor preserve me, I can't wait to be me again," he said. "To get out of this skin . . ."

"I think I understand," she said. Her grip tightened. "I'm just glad were both getting out of this with our lives. Not that I don't like the win." She relaxed her grip and broke away.

Jolan sat down in a chair. "Care for a drink?" she asked.

"Nothing too strong," he said. She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of red wine. She poured two glasses and put them both on the table of Vitrian glass. "Time seems to be treating you well."

"Admirals get the best," she said. "Includes juvenat treatment as well as rebuilds. Even those with connections inferior to mine."

Jolan picked up the wine glass. "You're shaking," she said.

Jolan put it down. "Post stress jitters. Throne, its like everything from the last five years is crashing down on me all at once." He leaned back.

"Its natural," she said. "You've had to hide everything human about yourself for five years while your body and soul were both and constant danger. There is nothing wrong with it. I've had the post battle shakes myself."

"I know you're right, but Throne it feels like everything is crashing down."

"Drink your wine," she ordered. "Go through medical, let Kyra and her army of interrogators and inquisitors continue to work it, and then come back for some light fact verification and supervisory work. Ease back into it. Take some time. You need it and Emperor knows, you've earned it."

"Perhaps," he said and took a sip from the glass. "This is good."

"I know," she said with a smile.

"Where's it from?"

"Cahala. It's a pissant little feudal world, but the southern continent has some great wineries. A Tyranid splinter fleet almost ate it, but the navy saved the day. Ave Imperator and all that. Every officer got invited to feasts, every winery got filled up, and every rating that could get leave got laid as much as he or she wanted. Gratitude is a beautiful thing."

"I'll bet." He raised his glass. "To the Emperor's loyal servants, in whatever capacity they serve. May they all come home whole in mind and body."

She raised her glass. "To coming home." They both drank. "So, I take it there's a lot of work left. Cut out the heart and the brain of the conspiracy and they whole becomes less dangerous, but every single part is still toxic."

"Throne," he groaned. "You couldn't be more right. Inquisitors are going to be busy all over the sector for years making sure every last member of the Rising Phoenix is accounted for. A few are going to slip through our net and make more trouble. And as sure as Astartes scythe through orks, there is going to be a symposium called. It's for the best, in theory, there is so much to be shared and researched, but Throne I hate working with Inquisitors that aren't solidly behind me and the symposium is going to be crawling with my philosophical enemies and some of them will look like my allies."

"Tough," she said, reaching for the bottle. She refilled their glasses. "The problems of victory."

"It is better than defeat, I'll give it that," he said dryly.

[Imperial Overlord]

He awoke in a awoke in a haze. He could see nothing. He fought down panic. Part of his brain recognized that everything was as it should be. "Inquisitor?" a distant voice asked.

"Yes," Jolan rasped. A tube of water was pressed into his mouth. He drank.

"Jolan," the voice repeated. The fog was drifting away. Gard. Gard Vikal was speaking. "The surgeries were a complete success. They'll have to be several more until it is completely reversed, but the hardest work is done."

"Good," said Jolan. "How long until the bandages come off my eyes?"

"Twenty-four hours," said Gard. "Just to be sure. Eye transplants, even when you're getting your own back, can be tricky things. Until then, if you need to shoot someone I suggest you delegate the work to Hethor or Keys."

"What about Domina or Nofield?"

"The commissar is busy keeping up morale and the sister is busy praying. I believe you call that delegation of responsibilities."

"No fair," said Jolan. "I'm fighting a battle of wits in a soporific haze."

"I thought you specialized in the impossible," said Gard. "Besides, I'm a physician. Drugging the opposition is standard practice."

"Opposition? I'm your patient."

"There's a difference?"

"I give up."

"Now I know you're lying. You never give up. Try to sleep. You've been sliced, diced, and put back together again. You need to heal. And then go through this again."

"When you put it that way, it sounds so appealing."

"That's the spirit," said Gard.

----------------------------------------------------------

Jolan examined his face closely in the mirror. "Even the scar is still there. Although its fairly faint."

"Some things the body does pretty much on its own. How do you feel?"

"Weak, full of aches and pains. As it should be, right?"

"Yes," said Gard. "Rest up for a week before trying to get back into an exercise routine. I know you'll want to get used to using your muscles again and building back everything that's atrophied, but you need to heal up more."

"Understood," said Jolan handing the hand mirror back. "I don't like it, but I understand it."

"The symposium bothering you?"

"Yes," said Gix. "I'm going to make a few inquisitors look like fools. They're not going to like that and will attempt to discredit me and everything I have to say. Even if that means letting heretics go free. The greater good and all that."

"We too have done terrible things in the name of the greater good," said Gard softly.

"I know," said Jolan, "but always to burn the enemies of the Emperor, never to cover up my own mistakes."

"I'm sure they will rationalize it as being in the service of the Emperor," said Gard. "That they are only preserving their abilities to serve the Emperor effectively and that is worth a few heretics temporarily slipping through the net. It's far from what we do, and very close as well."

"That's what makes them so dangerous," said Jolan.

[Dominus]

Oooh, and now Severa makes her (re)appearance. Which of those shiny battleships is hers?

And a not-so-fond farewell to Sevren Dask. At least Gix is back again, in mind and body. And the symposium is coming up. I can't wait. On with the internecine Inquisitorial strife and Machiavellian politicking/backstabbing, I say!

[Imperial Overlord]

She's the admiral, they are all hers.

[Chris OFarrell]

She's the admiral, they are all hers.

*slaps*

"This vessel belongs to his Imperial Majesty, the God Emperor of Mankind Admiral".

</Political Officer>

[Raesene]

My name is Raesene, and I admit that I am addicted to "In Memoria..."

[Dominus]

Bah, you know what I mean, tricksy Nazgul.

Can we have one more naval battle before the upcoming symposium? Just one?

</End BFG fan mode.>

[Imperial Overlord]

Jolan Gix approached the podium. He was wearing a black satin robe lined with dark fur. Red aquilas were marked in repeating patterns across the garment. The gaze of hundred fell upon him as he took his place. He cleared his throat.

Under the great vaulted roof, inlaid with gold leaf and decorated with golden cherubs, were gathered nearly a hundred inquisitors. They were men and women from every part of the family of man, from a petite blue-eyed blonde near albino woman from Penumbrus to the lean and muscular reddish-brown skinned man with filed teeth from the feral world of Actross to the green eyed, dark skinned giant woman from Karnash. Their dress was equally varied from the conservative to the decadent, a riot of different fashions and personal tastes. Adding to their numbers were the retinues of savants, attendants, and interrogators who were attending as part of their masters' retinue.

A dozen cyber skulls and a host of other recorders were directed at Gix. At his side and just behind him were a bank of autoscribes, ready to record every word. "We are gathered here to discuss the heretical cult of Tzeentch worshipers known as the Rising Phoenix," Gix began. "I have been given the honour of giving the opening presentation, no doubt do to my role in uncovering the heart of the conspiracy. I would like to start off with congratulating Inquisitor Simone Malekeshi and Gerrad Tirranis with successfully uncovering and killing two traitors to our Holy Inquisition who supplied the heretics with some of our secrets. Not least among those secrets were my movements, betrayals which almost resulted in my death." There was a brief round of applause. Jolan bowed in the direction of the aforementioned inquisitors before continuing.

"The Rising Phoenix started nearly six hundred years ago when a member of the ruling Levian dynasty decided to usurp power on Jivanne. As local law mandated that only males could inherit the mantle of Imperial Commander, Razanna Levian accomplished this by using her psychic gifts to make her brother a puppet. Her gifts as an unregistered psyker were honed by her membership in a minor Tzeentchian cult. Soon she outgrew them and they were eventually exterminated. Tzeentch, however, had gained a more valuable pawn.

"She subsequently hollowed out and possessed her nephew on his ascension to the the rulership of Jivanne. By this point her ambitions and lust for power had grown so much that one system no longer satisfied her. Her aging body, possibly already showing the stigmata of mutation, was encased in a life support vat and she used her now vast psychic skills to run her empire through her puppet. She recruited other family members and prominent vassals into her conspiracy, granting them positions of authority and sending them out into the galaxy to take power on their own. With them went a cells of a small heretical terrorist organization, whose purpose was to eliminate all obstacles to their patrons careers. This was, of course, the Rising Phoenix."

Jolan paused to take a drink of water. "With Jivanne's resources behind them, these highly trained agents were able to succeed at even extremely different missions. Their reputation among other cults grew and the Rising Phoenix found that other chaos cults were good sources of expendable cats paws as well as sources for recruiting the occasional skilled operator. Thus, the Rising Phoenix grew and spread.

"Only the Illuminated Masters, the cults small elite, knew the true nature of their missions and the origins in the Jivanne System. The Illuminated Masters had suicide imprinting, making capture and interrogation impossible. Their secrets were safe.

"And what were their goals? Death, destruction, and disruption on a localized scale. Not conquest, not conversion, not occupation. They would occasionally lend their hand to other heretic efforts, to obscure their true aims and enhance their reputation.

"Their true purpose, of course, was to put members of their cult in leadership positions throughout the Imperium. Over the last three centuries they enjoyed considerable success." He triggered a holodisplay which projected a giant sector map on the ceiling. Red dots started multiplying and covering a multitude of stars.

"A dismal picture. Along the way the agents of the Rising Phoenix had collected a wide array of contacts, semi-legitimate, criminal, and heretical to aid their cause. The Illuminated Masters, the leaders of their terrorist cells, adopted fanciful names and engaged in showy, destructive operations. The local power structure would often succumb, but reinforcements would usually be able to rebuild and sometimes place a Levian or a Levian retainer in power. So the cult grew.

"My contact with the cult grew out of multiple confrontations with the Illuminated Master known as the PsyKing during the Adraxus Affair. He escaped and survived, barely, and after the successful resolution of the Adraxian matter I went on to other things. One of those other things was the investigation of the destabilizing series of attacks that we now call the Mandrassi Harrowing, due to the occurrence of so many of the attacks on or near the Mandrassi Trade Route. This is where I sealed my fate.

"I never found the culpret behind the Harrowing, but several members of the cult had benefited from the attacks, being promoted to fill the power vacuum or gaining power and influence for handling the crisis. A few years latter, I clashed again with the PsyKing, although he alluded me. By now they had my Inquisition file and reports in their position, thanks to the traitors in our ranks. Although there were no similarities between the anonymous killings and the flashy insurrections, the clue of Jivannian promotion connected them. The Jivannians had established their reputation for competency by then, so it would trigger no alarms in the minds of an analyst. They decided, in a very flattering decision, that my abilities and background in having worked extensively on both cases made me too great a risk to tolerate my continued existence.

"The Gamesman ordered a series of attacks to keep me off balance and possibly manipulate me into a mental state that would make me susceptible to corruption. I guess one can never have too many inquisitors under his control. One of his minions, probably the PsyKing, disagreed with this course of action, and attempted to have me assassinated using pirates as proxies. The information necessary for the interception was given by the late and now disgraced Inquisitor Hoshi Taluren.

"I survived the attempt and made the decision to fake my own death and operate under Special Condition. My plan was fairly simple: some of my agents would establish a clandestine power base to provide resources for a future attack on the head of the cult once it was located while I searched for and tracked a prominent heretic agent. I eventually found what I was looking for in the form of Sevran Dask. I killed Dask and assumed his identity.

"Shortly thereafter I was contacted by agents of the Rising Phoenix who wanted to recruit Dask. I succeeded in the tasks set to me, while subtly setting up other heretics for failure or assassination. In this way my efforts appeared more impressive and there heretic's aims were defeated, or so I thought. I impressed the Queen of Nightmares and was taken to Jivanne for formal induction in their cult. I was, unfortunately, unable to prevent the death of Inquisitor Yardilon at heretic hands.

"My disguise did not survive encountering the Gamesman's puppet body. I would have died, had it not been for the intervention of Nathan Talstram, who was also able to carry a message to one of my agents and thus bring in the necessary forces to overcome the Jivannian defences. The end of the battle left me in custody of Razanna Levian, in her secret stronghold beneath the palace where she had issued commands for centuries. With her was a mind impulse link to a vast database of stored knowledge, as the intricate affairs of the cult were too much for one mind to contain without aid. Subsequent interrogations and data extraction have lead us to where we stand today. And where do we stand?

"The people of Jivanne and many other heretic ruled worlds are pure, untainted. The conspiracy would collapse if it spread too widely. To avoid attention their worlds were productive and faithful and would remain so until they would rise up en masse and spread civil war throughout the sector and segmentum in the name of 'purging the heretics'. Many of the regiments that fought for Horus thought they were fighting for the Emperor. The Jivannians would do the same and bring about a cataclysm almost as terrible as the Age of Blood.

"We have the names of agents and allies, contacts and resources. Many of them have been caught or will be caught, but some will make it to freedom to continue to spread their poison. The Rising Phoenix's days as a hidden mastermind are over, but their ability to damage the fabric of Imperial society are far from done. Here, at this symposium, our purpose is to compile our knowledge and experience so we may root out as much of this evil as possible before they can flee and hide, to start again. In the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind, I welcome you all here and wish success to your endeavours." Applause from hundreds of hands greeted his words, but Jolan did not have ears for them. He was busy watching those who were not clapping.

[Feil]

Looks like you have two paragraphs ending with a quotation mark that shouldn't be. (Paragraphs 7 and 8.)

Do you mean "Applause from hundreds of hands"?

[Imperial Overlord]

Silence! There were no typos! Ignore any and all evidence of the passage being subsequently edited! NO SUCH EVENTS OCCURRED!

[Dominus]

All those who persist in the spreading of licentious misinformation regarding the supposed existence of these "typos" in In Memoria, please report to the nearest servitor processing center for your behavioral modification.

Regards,
The Holy Orders of the Emperor's Inquisition

[Imperial Overlord]

Jolan eased his way through the press of people towards the buffet table. Many inquisitors had discriminating palettes and were used to the best, but it wasn't possible to feed a thousand people en masse and maintain the highest standards of culinary excellence. Some inquisitors chose to retire and enjoy the bounties prepared by their personal chefs rather than partake of merely excellent food. Jolan Gix, on the other hand, still remembered what it was to live through a winter on olives, salted fish, and porridge. He was also not about to pass up an opportunity to network with his colleagues.

He piled a selection of mixed greens on one part of his plate and added a tender fillet of grox stake to it. "Gix," said a voice behind him.

Jolan turned. A dark skinned man Maladar's size had addressed him. He was bald, with a short, thick, square cut beard. He wore ivory and gold robes. "Lord Inquisitor Doresh," he replied. "A pleasure."

"A mutual one," said Doresh as he extended his hand. Jolan took it. The lord inquisitor had a grip like iron. Jolan endured. "Would you do me the honour of joining me at my table?"

"Of course," Jolan responded. He signaled Kyra and followed the Haakim Doresh to his table. A willowy blonde woman, a grizzled and massively scarred warrior Doresh's size wearing a spotted beast hide as a cloak, and a diminutive man with a shock of white hair were there.

"My Interrogator Patricia Moor, my faithful bodyguard Carex, and my savant Karlos Nelon," said Doresh "I'm sure you all remember Jolan Gix's presentation." They all bowed politely to Gix.

"Thank you," said Jolan. "I'm an admirer of your work, particularily the purging of the Grethanix Hive."

"Thank you," said Doresh. "Your own work is quite impressive. To tear out the heart of the Rising Phoenix is something many might dream of. Some might resent you for your success and dig deep for any past failures or questionable actions to use against you."

"Thank you for the warning," said Gix. The issue hung of the group like a cloud. Jolan decided to go for it. "I was lead to believe that you yourself had some involvement with trying to bring down the Rising Phoenix."

"Some involvement?" Doresh guffawed. "Boy I worked to bring them down for the better part of two centuries. Well, I did other things as well, but I lived and dreamed their deaths. Do I wish it had been by my hand that they fell? Yes, yes I do. More than that, I am glad they are gone. I have no shortage of great deeds to buoy my reputation. It does me little harm and the Imperium great good that the Rising Phoenix were brought down by another inquisitor. The position, and the sentiment, is not universal. Some will think you have embarrassed them. You are aware of that, I trust?"

"Yes," said Gix.

"I know those of who I speak very well. I have worked with them on a number of occasions. Most of them will get over it, a few will hold lasting grudges. One will do more than that. Milosh Telvar is a vengeful man convinced of his own righteousness. He is a Monodominant thug of the worst kind. I cannot say that he will assuredly move against you, but such action is likely. Beware him."

"I will. Why are you aiding me?"

"Telvar is a blunt and blind tool. He has uses, but in other situations he is a disaster. It would be best for the Imperium that he live and serve scourging its more unsubtle enemies. You, on the other hand, are a much more capable individual. You have done twice as much as Telvar in half as much time. If comes down to a choice, it is that easy. Besides, I hate the blockhead."

"To hatred," said Jolan Gix raising his glass. Doresh roared with laughter. He and his people raised their glasses.

"To hatred!"

[Imperial Overlord]

"You seemed to have been making friends," said Kyra as she glided across the suite, a glass of bubbling golden wine in either hand. Jolan accepted a glass from his mentor and Kyra sat down opposite him on a leather sofa.

"The decor is a little over done," said Jolan as he looked around.

"You just don't like gilded cherubs," replied Kyra. "I really can't blame you for that. They are overdone."

Jolan took a sip of the wine. It was good. He could live, had lived, without the luxuries that an Inquisitor could indulge in but it was a pleasure to have them again. It was fitting that he taste them again before he began the next stage of his journey.

"So did you really bring old Doresh around?" she pressed.

"Somewhat. He wanted the Rising Phoenix badly, even if it was by another's hand. Glory isn't important to him, not anymore, although I think it once was. There's something else going on though. I think he's going to try to recruit me."

"Into what? He knows that we are close. He must suspect that our intrigues involve one another, to a greater or lesser degree."

"I don't know," said Jolan Gix. "I think it is worth finding out."

"What if he's trying to set me up for an easy kill? Lure me out alone to a secret spot and then-" Jolan made a slicing motion across his throat.

"Could be. If he fears you enough."

"If he fears the man who could find and root out the Rising Phoenix enough."

"Something to consider," said Kyra.

"He was right about Telvar."

"Telvar's enmity is obvious. Mentioning it just helps establish trust, trust that is the necessary precondition to betrayal."

"True," said Jolan. "It is not like I am without resources or allies here. I can make conditions on the meeting of my own. Of our own," he corrected.

She nodded. "So we'll push things ahead and see what happens. To change the subject, how was your time with Severa?"

"Good. We're not quite lovers and something more than friends. It is . . . very good to spend time in her company."

"You are on two different paths now, paths that will often be lonely. You should treasure what moments you can make." They were silent for a moment. "On the subject of solitude, have you thought of taking on an interrogator?"

"It would have been . . . problematic."

"Not then, but now."

"There are a few things I have to do first, before I can take one on."

"You are my best student Jolan and you have grown so very much from when you were mine. You have much to pass on and obligation to do so for the benefit of the Imperium."

"I will consider it."

"Good. There is a young woman who I think would benefit greatly from learning from you."

"I should have known you would already have someone picked out."

"You should have," she took a sip of wine. "You're slipping."

"Good thing I have a veteran intriguer like you guarding my back."

Her voice stopped being playful. "Always Jolan," she said, "always."

He nodded. It was a lie, of course. Corruption and deviance was a danger of their line of work. Should he step over the line, and if she knew the full truth about his activities she might believe he already had, she would kill him. As was right and proper.

He raised his glass. "To good friends and comrades, may we never be short of both."

"I'll drink to that."

[Dominus]

Ah, inquisitorial politicking, one can never truly tire of it. Backstabbing, betrayals, and deceit are the order of the day -- heh, Machiavelli and Bismarck have nothing on these people. It somehow figures that Kyra would bring up the angle I myself never considered. Given what was revealed in this chapter, I'm rather concerned about Doresh's motives now -- is he a member of the Ordo Hydra or something equally nefarious? (I jest, of course.) I believe the prevailing theme of the Inquisition is that one can never be too paranoid when one is a member of that august body, after all.

Jolan will, I trust, be very careful about showing any signs of radicalism in the future? It seems that an awful lot of people would like very much to make an Eisenhorn out of him.

[Brain_Caster]

How many major groups are there in the Inquisition?

From what I understand there are the monodomiants (?) and the radicals, but are there any more?
I assume Jolan would be classified as a radical, since he's willing to employ chaos-sorcery when it helps in defeating chaos in the long run?

[Dominus]

There are quite a few different factions within the Inquisition, although they broadly fall into the categories of 'radical' and 'puritan'. Radicals believe in the Machiavellian precept of 'the end justifies the means' and are willing to employ the means of the enemy against itself -- for example, the use of daemonhosts or even the employment of xenos in one's retinue or the association with thereof (Ravenor in his earlier years, as an example). By contrast, the Puritans adhere strictly to Imperial doctrine and typically persecute their more unorthodox brethren.

The main tenets of the Inquisition, beyond the Radical/Puritan divide, can be defined below:

Puritans

* Thorianism - These members of the Inquisition believe that the Emperor will some day be reincarnated. This is the most 'radical' of the Puritan idelogies due to the possible upheaval that could result should the Thorians actually be able to summon the Emperor into a new form, as Believers and Unbelievers turned upon each other. Named after Sebastian Thor.

* Monodominance - This philosophy holds that man can only survive in the Galaxy at the death of every other creature, be it alien, mutant, or even psyker (which would potentially harm the Imperium, seeing as all galactic communication and long-distance travel is psychic in nature). They are arguably the most extreme of the Puritans.

* Amalathianism - The conservative philosophy of Puritanism. It advocates unity between Imperial organisations and lack of tumultuous change. Amalathian inquisitors oppose the Inqusition's division into factions. Ironically, their idealisms mark them as their own faction in the Inquisition. It was at the birth of this philosophy, on Gathalamor, at Mount Amalath, that Lord Solar Macharius was spurred on to his grand conquest of nearly a thousand worlds.

Radicals

* Xanthism - The most obviously Radical grouping within the Inquisition, it advocates the use of warp-based weaponry, such as daemon possessed swords, daemonhosts, and generally turning the power of Chaos against itself. Named after Inquisitor-Master Zaranchek Xanthus, executed as a heretic in the 32nd millennium.

* Horusians - A sub-sect of the Xanthites, this sect wishes to create a new leader for humanity, much like the puritan Thorians. Both factions strive for a powerful, god-like figurehead to lead the Imperium into a new golden age. But the Horusians view the might of Horus as a wasted opportunity; believing that should the limitless power of Chaos be harnessed and bound into a great leader of men, Humanity could once more become united and crush all before it. Needless to say, even open-minded members of the Inquisition view the Horusians as dangerous in the extreme.

* Recongregationism - The Imperium, after millennia, has become decadent and corrupt according to this philosophy. To remedy this, Recongregators consider that the Imperium should be rebuilt, lest it stagnate further and collapse under the pressure of countless threats from both without and within.

* Istvaanism - To this ideology, conflict is desirable to further progress through strife. It holds that mankind has made its greatest achievements after periods of conflict, such as the Horus Heresy, or Age of Apostasy. It is the place of the Istvaanians to strengthen mankind through adversity, and so follow a 'survival of the fittest' doctrine. The philosophy is named after the Istvaan III virus-bombings that initiated the Horus Heresy.

[LadyTevar]

So... is Jolan Gix a Xanthian?

[Imperial Overlord]

So... is Jolan Gix a Xanthian?

At this point in his career Jolan Gix appears to be an Amalathian, but would be probably be best described as a moderate Xanthian.