Chương 25: Lesser Evil

Despite the complete immateriality of what was happening, I couldn't help but notice the icy wind enveloping us. I could have changed it with a single thought, but I simply had no desire to do so. It was refreshing and helped keep my head clear of unnecessary thoughts and rash decisions. Jaya was a few meters away from me, and for a few seconds we fell silent, leaving only the sound of the wind to be heard. It wasn't hard to understand how awkward this entire situation was.

Therefore, I tried to break the ice as quickly as possible and make our subsequent conversation easier. I smiled somewhat apologetically and spread my hands to the sides. I was still on guard, but I had to play my part.

"First of all, I want to say that I knocked you out entirely for the sake of your own safety. A conflict with that deity wouldn't have led to anything. Well, except our deaths, of course. I was simply trying to save us and prevent a conflict." She shook her head, but despite this, a smile also appeared on her face.

"I am not angry, Gabriel. Such an outcome on your part was quite reasonable, and I do not judge you for it. I taught you not to depend on the opinions of others and to think with your own head. And even if you had killed me, my death would have merely been a necessary price for the greater good." I sighed deeply and wearily, closing my eyes for a second.

"Can we do without all these secrets, omissions, and intrigues? Just for now. The situation outside isn't the most joyful as it is, so we need to unite and be open so that no one dies." The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow in surprise, but she didn't look categorically opposed to my proposal.

"Why not. Let's do this, today we speak without lies. I know you do not trust me, and you do so with good reason, so I am ready to be open."

"In that case, please start first. Without any metaphors, double meanings, and the rest, just tell me why all these mysteries and secrets are necessary," I answered quickly, giving her a slight nod. It was a bit hypocritical to say that on my part, but it was necessary. I myself kept a pile of secrets from her that I had no intention of sharing, as my mentor is clearly not someone I can trust with knowledge of the most dangerous artifacts in this galaxy.

After all, I still don't know why she was cooperating with that god, feeding it the souls of ordinary people. Of course, she might and definitely will lie to me, but this way I will get at least some information, and nothing will stop me from double-checking it later.

"Listen then. I planned to bring you up to speed anyway. Except in this case, I suggest we move to a more appropriate location." She snapped her fingers, and the space around us shuddered and changed, after which we found ourselves in her study. She sat behind a desk, and I sat before her. The Inquisitor moved her hand to the side and then pulled a cup of hot recaf from her cabinet, which, judging by the smell, was brewed from the leaves of an exotic alien plant from a relatively well-known Agri-World.

In reality, she possessed no such rarity, but in the realm of the mind, anything you can imagine is possible.

"The Inquisition is a fractured organization, and no one even realizes to what extent. Radicals and Puritans, hundreds and thousands of factions are scattered across the entire galaxy. We are all servants of the Emperor, needed to protect humanity from the greatest and most terrible threats hiding in the dark."

"Except not all of us adhere to the principle that the Imperium and humanity are inextricably linked. At least not in the form it currently exists." Immediately after this, the Inquisitor began to sip her recaf, clearly scrutinizing my reaction. I merely grunted but said nothing. I understood perfectly well that the most important thing for her was that I didn't jump up, shouting about obvious heresy. Whatever I might think, I needed to pretend that everything was fine.

After this, she set the cup back on the table, continuing her speech.

"The Emperor's creation was corrupted the moment flawed humans touched it. Corrupt officials and religious fanatics, perverts, maniacs, and simple idiots. All humans are prone to sin, and therefore, with each passing year, the Imperium only rotted further. And now, after many thousands of years, it has turned into a mockery of everything He dreamed of."

"Many in the Inquisition see this, beginning to sound the alarm to warn of the impending catastrophe. The so-called Radicals understand best of all that the Imperium needs changes to survive. Except we are a drop in the ocean compared to the Puritans, who reject any attempts to reform the state."

"Believe me, if there were a way to change everything peacefully, I would be completely for it, but I simply do not see such an outcome. And therefore, I and some of my comrades who think similarly have to seize any opportunity to stop the fall of the Imperium and all of humanity into the abyss of Chaos. Even if it means making sacrifices." Honestly, I didn't even know what to answer to that. Essentially, she is right, except these are some radical and categorical methods of solving the problem.

The Emperor would hate the current state of affairs in his state, but he would hardly be loyal to Jaya either. Her readiness to work so closely with the Immaterium might carry far greater danger than some corrupt officials. Though who am I to talk.

"And what exact methods fall into this category?" I asked. I wanted to bring up human sacrifice, but that wouldn't lead anywhere good. Therefore, I asked a vaguer question through which I could learn something genuinely new. But I hoped she would take my hint.

"For example, the preparation and training of unsanctioned psykers. We most often categorize them as either too mutated or those who are stronger than all permissible parameters," the former Inquisitor answered calmly. A good argument, to which I simply shrugged.

"Point taken, I'm not a fool. But nothing is done without reason. Everything has a purpose, and I am more inclined to believe you are creating a pocket army of powerful psykers for a reason." Jaya mirrored my gesture, shrugging slightly.

"There is that. But who suffers from fewer human souls falling into the hands of Chaos or destroying the surrounding area out of a simple inability to control their powers or ignorance of the dangers of the Empyrean? Furthermore, they can become perfect agents within the ranks of cultists or revolutionaries, whose work no one would even suspect. After all, the Imperium doesn't work with rogue psykers, does it?" she asked this question with a smile, clearly watching my reaction.

"And this army definitely won't be used to counter the Puritan armies if you are exposed?" I asked. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Jaya looked at me unblinking, then conjured a new drink in the air. A glass filled with something red, reeking of alcohol and some sort of herbs.

"We try to avoid conflict, but as they said on ancient Terra, if you want peace, prepare for war. Besides, you are clearly not considering the probability that we are preparing to meet an enemy who cannot be defeated with ordinary bolters." I frowned slightly at that last sentence. Now this was getting more interesting. Right now, the Imperium has not yet faced the threat of the ancient Necrons, the currently backward Tau, or the Tyranids flying in from another galaxy.

The Aeldari are barely considered a threat here, and everyone is already used to the Orks. That means it can only be the Chaos I am familiar with. Or some other unknown xenos.

"Almost twenty years ago, something appeared in our sector that caused the convening of an Inquisitorial conclave. The Ghost Star is a herald that something truly important and insanely dangerous is coming. It is an obvious sign of the rising of the Warp and the deepening influence of Chaos on the galaxy, clearly showing how ineffective the current Imperium is."

"After two decades, no one has been able to find out what caused the appearance of this phenomenon, or even who is responsible for it. All because of bureaucratic red tape and squabbles between those holding power. Even in the face of death, they are unable to unite and fight back to protect ordinary people. And I am not even talking about the threat of the Masks, who can pose a danger to the entire sector and beyond."

"So tell me, Gabriel, is the current Imperium worthy of being fought and died for?" Jaya spat out the last sentence without a smile. I pondered her words. In essence, she is right about a lot, but her speeches seemed too radical to me. As far as I understood, she is ready to burn down the Imperium to build something more flexible and capable of reform in its place. But I didn't believe it was the only way out.

I remembered that in the future, when Roboute Guilliman, one of the last living loyalist Primarchs, healed from his wounds, he would be capable of significantly improving the standard of living across the entire Imperium. And it was only thanks to him that the Imperium didn't completely fall under the onslaught of countless enemies. And the Lord of Ultramar managed to pull that off during the darkest moment for humanity after the Horus Heresy, without needing to raze everything to the foundation.

What could he achieve if he woke up in a more stable time? Yes, he is a demigod literally created to govern a state, but that means the Imperium isn't hopeless. At least, I hope so.

"Then what happened with Atreus?" I decided to change the subject to gain more time to think. Jaya looked at me in surprise. And it even seemed to me that she was genuinely surprised right now.

"What does he have to do with this? I have absolutely no interest in Custodians. And don't play dumb, you are too smart not to guess his true job. Yes, he watched over your survival almost manically, which was quite annoying, but working with the golden guards is so simple."

"They do not care about the entire Imperium; to them, it is merely another line of defense for the Emperor. Except, despite all their transhuman genius and unimaginable experience, they will never even lift a finger to save the Master's legacy. Atreus was no threat to my plans, and therefore I didn't plan to do anything about him."

"And the Black Templars have nothing to do with it?" She began to smile, conjuring another glass in her hand with a snap of her fingers. You couldn't get drunk here, and you could only enjoy the taste. But even so, it was quite a pleasure. The local alcohol was too strange and even unpredictable, as it could be made from things you couldn't even imagine.

"They are tools and nothing more. And yes, take my word for it, you shouldn't underestimate the Astartes. They may seem like simple killing machines, but their intellect often surpasses even the best of us. Add centuries of experience to that, and you get a truly dangerous combination."

"But due to their narrow focus on waging war and combat operations, they can be manipulated like puppets. After all, even the Angels of Death rely on supply lines. And they also really love their trinkets. A couple of requests, a few incredibly rare artifacts, including a couple of relics of their Chapter, and even these proud warriors will go do your dirty work."

"But don't get me wrong, I hate these fanatics like no one else. And therefore, even if you killed them all, I wouldn't care. Humanity will only be better off without them."

"I'm more interested not in how you control them, but why you summoned these fanatics," I asked. Jaya scoffed upon hearing my words.

"I am not stupid, Gabriel. Working with a poorly understood Warp entity is not the best idea. But when choosing between two evils, you will always regret something. According to the plan, they were supposed to rescue us and get us off Lehida before we were attacked. After that, I would have used my connections and convinced a close friend of mine to enact an Exterminatus on Lehida. But I didn't account for Atreus's interference, which is why everything went completely wrong.

Our entire conflict wasn't supposed to happen." I silently pondered her words. In truth, she was right about many things. Even if her actions had good intentions, the sacrifices.

"Believe me, Gabriel, I know what you think of me. But know this, sometimes there is simply no other choice. For the sake of saving humanity, sometimes there is no choice but to step beyond the bounds of what is permissible."

"And I hope that someday you will understand that for the greater good of all humanity, any sacrifice can be made. Even if it means temporarily cooperating with a spawn of the Warp. After all, the moment we succeed in our holy mission, the Emperor will walk the earth once more. And then our sacrifices will be justified." I looked up and met her eyes. I smiled slightly and pretended everything was fine.

"I think I understand. In that case, you need to know what happened while you were out. And for our survival, I need you to play along with me on something." I had made my choice. She cannot be trusted, but despite this, I will cooperate with her, until I reach Zerbe. And after that, there will be judgment. The truth was, I saw that spark in the former Inquisitor's eyes, inherent in all fanatics absolutely certain of the righteousness of their actions.

And I felt that for the sake of her mission, she was ready to put the entire sector, or even the Imperium, to the torch. The moment the Inquisitor woke up, life on the ship became much more cheerful. Jaya had pleasant conversations with the local Chaplain. After his interrogations with me, he took on the former Inquisitor, who, to his surprise, completely repeated my words, confirming everything I had said. He couldn't torture her either, so he was forced to conclude his investigation shortly after.

I began to be looked upon with less suspicion, which made life much easier. I still didn't dare to use my psychic powers, leaving me with nothing but meditation and training. Another day later, we finally entered the Warp. I was a bit nervous, as my last such experience wasn't the most pleasant. But all fears receded when I realized that if daemons broke onto our ship, they would be the first to regret it.

After all, even if you forget about the hundred Black Templars, Jaya and I are capable of orchestrating a massacre among the spawn of the Immaterium. Our flight to the destination would take about three weeks, giving me time to familiarize myself with the planet we were heading to. Even my mentor couldn't convince them to turn back to find Atreus, so we were moving towards Pry. Not that I didn't know about this Emperor-forsaken place.

Formally, we weren't heading for the planet itself, but to the void station near the gas giant, designated as Pry Forty-One. It is a well-known and very important supply hub in the sector, through which the Administratum routes shipments of absolutely everything, from military gear to food for hundreds of worlds. The Templars don't live there, because unlike the other Astartes Chapters, they don't have a homeworld of their own.

There are currently several more of their fleets at Pry, slated to assemble for yet another crusade. Their High Marshal, who dispatched the hundred Space Marines to retrieve Jaya, is also currently there. I am certain that once the mission is complete, they will set off for a new war. Therefore, Jaya and I will have to spend some time alone on this station, which is not the friendliest of places.

The thing is, because of Pry's critical strategic importance, it has become a breeding ground for illegal activities of all sorts. Narcotics, smuggling, slave trading, and worse. This place has become infamous because of all this, and there were no hopes for positive change. Everything there is literally permeated with corruption, and an attempt to cleanse the place of them would be akin to genocide. And the Inquisition will not resort to that as long as the problems are limited only to such petty crime.

If there were Chaos worshipers or xenos spies there, then yes, the great hammer would kill everyone. But as it stands, they turn a blind eye to this dump. But I was ready for anything that might await us there. At least, I hope so.