Khanty-Mansi Dome, Magneto Steelworks.
Nimrod lay on his bed resting. Through his recent acting, he had digested more than half of his potion. He felt that he was only one final step away from fully digesting it.
Just then, the short-range communicator emitted a piercing buzz.
Nimrod sprang to his feet and answered it. Rawlslev's respectful voice came through.
"Boss, a noble lord from House Finde in the Upper Hive has come to see you. He says he's here to give you your payment."
"Show him to the meeting room. I'll be there shortly."
Nimrod got up, adjusted his slightly constricting armor, and headed to the newly built meeting room.
After the blond noble entered and looked at the young man before him, he said in amazement,
"I can hardly believe your men used to be gang members."
"That is the power of order. I gave them hope and changed their lives."
"It's yours."
Howard handed the iron box in his hand to Nimrod.
The moment Nimrod took the long box, he sensed the spirituality and Warp energy leaking from it. He opened the iron box.
"This Psyker Crystal is quite sizable. You went to a lot of trouble."
Howard did not mind the young man's overly familiar form of address. He said,
"I came not only to deliver your payment, but also to entrust you with something."
"I would like to hire you as my defense Lawyer, to speak for me at the Arbitration Court. Name your terms. Even several domes, or factories in the Upper Hive, are acceptable."
"I'd like to see the case file first."
Nimrod did not agree immediately. Seeing that he had not been blinded by profit, Howard was even more satisfied with his impromptu decision. He took a Data Slate from the lining of his Artificer Power Armor and handed it to the young man.
Nimrod swiped his fingers across it. After reviewing the file and asking a few questions, he understood the situation moments later.
A summary of the case formed in his mind: four days ago, Count Sari, head of House Finde, had suddenly died.
Brelon, the second in line to inherit, had suddenly produced a will stating Count Sari's decision regarding the division of his estate. Brelon was to receive one-third of House Finde's property.
"One question. Why come to me?"
"This will originally violated House Finde's family rules, but Brelon has gained the support of a member of the royal family. He holds a position in the Arbitration Court, and his name is Estupinian."
"Therefore, none of the major Lawyers dare take the case. The identity of the Fifth Arbiter would not intimidate anyone, but a collateral member of House Boleslaw is a different matter."
Howard spoke frankly. He still had time to keep looking, and at the very least, he could send an ordinary family Lawyer to appear.
If Nimrod backed down once the hearing began at the Arbitration Court, it would be too late.
"No problem," Nimrod said indifferently. "But I want to choose one treasure from House Finde's vault."
Nimrod realized that serving as Howard's Lawyer and appearing before the Arbitration Court would be the perfect stage to complete his final digestion.
Besides, he believed House Finde's vault should contain potion ingredients as well.
"You..."
Though he feared Nimrod's strength, Yasin's loyalty to Howard still drove him to speak up and rebuke him.
Howard raised a hand to stop him. "I agree. You may choose one item from House Finde's vault."
Though the collection was precious, none of its pieces were worth more than one-third of the family fortune built by generations of ancestors.
Nimrod asked Howard for a temporary Upper Hive pass. After ordering his men to guard the factory and continue searching for traces of Lung Spiders, he headed alone for the Upper Hive.
Three days later, at the Arbitration Court in the Upper Hive of Tezwork Hive City.
Nobles dressed in luxurious attire and Tech-Priests in red robes entered the Arbitration Court from alloy passageways on opposite sides.
Influenced by Martian thought, red had always been the most prestigious color throughout Vostonia. Red was the dominant color in every important venue, and the Arbitration Court was no exception.
The arbitrators wore luxurious clothing in different colors and bore different family crests, but all of them wore red sashes around their necks. They sat in red metal seats, with their secretaries seated in the rows behind them.
On either side of the red metal table atop the dais sat the presiding arbiters for the day—Estupinian Boleslaw and Tech-Priest Kivior-39.
Estupinian, dressed in a red sun robe embroidered with golden thread, turned toward Kivior-39. Green light flashed across the Tech-Priest's filter screen, and he picked up the gavel and struck it heavily.
"Silence!"
The nobles' conversations came to an abrupt halt. Estupinian looked toward the plaintiff's side nearest him.
He met Brelon's eyes for a moment before speaking.
"Plaintiff's Lawyer, please deliver your opening statement."
After the Lawyer in gold-rimmed glasses rose, he bowed to the dais and those around him.
"Gentlemen and ladies, it is my honor to deliver an opening statement on behalf of my client, Mr. Brelon Finde."
His fingers slid over the Data Slate. Both sides of the Cogitator suspended between the dais and the plaintiff's and defendant's seats displayed a will. He spoke in a mournful tone.
"My esteemed colleagues, Lord Sari was a respected Count who devoted his entire life to House Finde."
"He and my client's mother, Lady Hualin, truly loved one another and brought forth the fruit of that love."
"Now that Lord Sari has passed away, my client is inheriting the gift of love left behind by his father according to the will. He deserves the sympathy and support of all arbiters present."
"..."
Nimrod watched the plaintiff's Lawyer. His impassioned performance, coupled with highly compelling gestures, had already won the sympathy of most noble jurors. With one of the two presiding arbiters favoring him, victory seemed assured.
"Finally, I would like to conclude with Article Fifteen of the inheritance provisions, Clause Eleven, in Chapter Two, Noble Regulations, of the Guide of the Omnissiah."
"'Illegitimate children of nobles possess inheritance rights under special circumstances.'"
"In conclusion, my client meets the special circumstances and should inherit the property according to the will."
Estupinian looked approvingly at Tezwork's foremost Lawyer. All one hundred and sixty-three cases he had handled had been victories.
The gold-medal Lawyer's performance was as outstanding as ever. The outcome was decided.
He turned and looked disdainfully at the young man seated at the defense Lawyer's table, speaking with feigned impartiality.
"Defendant, your representative Lawyer is too young. This Arbiter permits you to replace him."
"Arbiter, I insist on keeping my representative Lawyer. I believe in Nimrod."
Howard answered decisively. Having heard Golovin's opening statement, he knew his family's Lawyers were no match for him. He might as well trust Nimrod; perhaps the young man could create a miracle.
"Please..." Estupinian drawled, "defense Lawyer, present your rebuttal."
Under the mocking gazes of the crowd, Nimrod calmly rose. "First, I must correct the plaintiff Lawyer's omission. In the clause he cited, Magos Kivior lists every special circumstance in detail, such as 'when a direct heir loses the capacity for judgment...'"
"Mr. Howard is healthy, shrewd, and capable. He does not fall under any special circumstance."
Golovin's expression changed. It was the first time he had encountered a Lawyer who could adapt on the spot and recall supplementary statutes.
Even a great Lawyer like him, who had undergone an intelligence enhancement operation, could not remember the more than two hundred million words in the Guide of the Omnissiah. Only Tech-Priests could remember the detailed clauses.
Just as he was about to speak, he saw Nimrod swipe across the Data Slate. The photographs displayed on the Cogitator made his pupils contract violently.
"My esteemed colleagues, the plaintiff Brelon's mother, Hualin, was previously a dancer at the Nightshade Bar. After spending one night with Count Sari, she rose to prominence and moved into a villa in the Upper Hive."
"But after giving birth to her child, she did not reform. Just the day before yesterday, she traveled with the Nightfall Troupe to the home of the wealthy merchant Julio."
"Brelon himself is even more useless. He is a drunkard and owes the various gangs of the Hive City more than twelve million Mars Credits in total."
The crowd gasped. Even for an Upper Hive noble family, that was an enormous sum.
Nimrod displayed the evidence he had gathered over the past three days one piece at a time, then finally looked toward Kivior-39.
"Imagine if scum like Brelon, who has no inheritance rights, were allowed to obtain property that does not belong to him. After paying his debts, he would squander it all before long."
"That would be shameful waste, lowering the efficiency of the entire Tezwork Hive City."
Kivior-39 abruptly rose to his feet. His voice crackled from the sonic resonator buried beneath his pale chest cavity.
"The defense Lawyer's evidence is sufficient, and his logic is rigorous. The Omnissiah shall never permit such blasphemous conduct."
The gavel in Estupinian's hand felt exceptionally heavy. After several seconds of silence, he still decided to give up the large sum of Mars Credits that was nearly within his grasp.
His gaze toward Nimrod brimmed with hatred as he brought the gavel down hard.
"By the unanimous determination of this Arbiter and Tech-Priest Kivior-39, the plaintiff Brelon's case against the defendant Howard is dismissed."
As the Adeptus Mechanicus personnel chanted the Omnissiah's binary hymns, Brelon and Golovin looked ashen. The nobles witnessed the rise of a new star, and they all remembered the name Nimrod.
At the same time, chaotic, disorderly black threads flickered within Nimrod's eyes. They rapidly intertwined and gradually formed the symbol of the Black Emperor pathway in his pupils.
He also discovered that something within his body seemed to be dissolving and merging with his own spirit.
[The potion has been completely digested. I am now a true "Lawyer."]
He looked again at Howard, who restrained his excitement and maintained noble etiquette.
[And there are the potion ingredients I am about to obtain.]
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