Prelude to War (3)

"Can you guarantee the truthfulness of what you've said, ma'am?"

"I can."

Do you understand the unusual nature of this conversation?

"I see."

Do you know who you are providing evidence to?

"I am providing the Eighth Legion of the Imperium of Man with evidence concerning the colony of Harkosus," Senior Trader Tracy said numbly into the darkness. "I swear in the name of the Emperor that I will be completely honest."

"Very well, I hope you remain honest, Ms. Tracy. Now, I will ask you a few questions. Would you like to answer them?"

"I do," Tracy said.

"Very good."

The sounds hissed back from the darkness; the language of the Nostramo sounded like the spitting of a venomous snake in the dark.

Tracy hugged herself tightly, gasping for breath in fear on the cold iron chair, awaiting the question—she was unharmed, and neither were they.

Strictly speaking, the senior traders from Harkosus were simply on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"So, the first question is, Ms. Tracy. What kind of place is Harkosus?"

"It's a federation, consisting of three planets. We refer to them by code names."

What code name?

"Number one, number two, number three."

Why is it called that?

"Because... that's what they're called, sir." The senior trader gripped the edge of the iron table with his numb fingers to keep himself from slipping to the ground.

She lifted her legs, not wanting her feet to touch the ground. The dissipating mist was cold and almost alive, seeping into her boots and numbing every toe.

"So, we'll call them Harkosus I, Harkosus II, and Harkosus III. Do you have a better suggestion?"

"No, sir."

"Very good. Regarding the second question, concerning the Harkosus Federation colony, could you provide us with more information?"

Tracy interlocked her fingers and answered the question quickly and clearly, "Yes, sir, yes."

"Very well, then, what about the military strength of the Harkosus Federation?"

"I... I don't know, sir. I'm just a senior trader."

"What do you know?" the inquirer asked patiently. "Anything is fine, Ms. Tracy, Senior Trader. You can add anything you wish."

"The Federation has many weapons and many soldiers, but we have no access to them. We are just high-ranking traders, sir. Our ship only has guards."

Van Cleef turned and nodded to Karyl: "It seems Anric Barbatos's intelligence was correct, Instructor. These senior traders were indeed just expendable pawns; they had no idea there was another ship full of soldiers following them."

"They are expendable pawns, but that doesn't mean they consider themselves expendable pawns. Let's change it and leave Ms. Tracy alone for a while," Karyl said expressionlessly.

Van Cleef obeyed the order. He turned around, lowered his head, and pressed a button on the control panel in front of him. The image on the glass screen was immediately switched.

Another man, also dressed in a gray uniform, sat trembling in terror in the dark room where no one else was present. The company commander pressed a button, and the intercom was activated the next moment, his voice entering the other man's ears.

"Senior Trader, Mr. Taltan, please prepare."

"What? What preparations? Who's speaking?!" the man shouted. "You can't do this! I demand basic human rights! You can't keep us in this dark room forever!"

"We have provided you with the most basic food rations, Senior Trader Mr. Taltan. You are now prisoners of the Imperium, therefore we can do whatever we want to you according to the law, especially after Harkosus attempted to commit a war crime against one of the Imperium's planets."

"In other words, you are now prisoners of war, Mr. Taltan. I will use the powers granted to me by Imperium law to ask you a few questions. Are you willing to answer them?"

"I--"

"Are you willing to answer the questions, Mr. Taltan?"

"I... I do." Taltan lowered his head dejectedly. The long period of imprisonment and the gloomy environment of the lower deck of the Nightfall had left him without the confidence to refuse.

"Very good, please provide a detailed description of the specific information regarding the rulers of the Harkosus Federation, the Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce."

Taltan jerked his head up, his previous dejection replaced by terror. He stammered for the first time ever, his features contorted, looking like a frightened animal. "No, no, no, I can't answer that question, I can't!"

Why not?

"I swore an oath!"

What oath?

"I swore an oath to our gods!" Taltan stood up, his features distant, yet each radiating a different kind of fear. "I cannot tell you about the merchant guild, or I will be punished by the gods!"

Van Cleef turned his head, his brows already furrowed. "His words are suspicious. We haven't found any trace of faith among the common people; they've even readily accepted the propaganda of Imperial Truth. Instructor, something's not right."

"The fact that a federation is ruled by a merchant guild is already very strange, not to mention the weapons and armor they use. These things are actually found in a world without long-distance travel."

Karyl smiled knowingly. "Let him have some peace and quiet. Senior trader Mr. Taltan has clearly witnessed the wrath of their gods, otherwise he wouldn't be so frightened. Continue questioning the lady."

Van Cleef nodded, and the glass curtain wall shifted again. Senior trader Tracy looked around anxiously in her chair; the woman was completely gripped by fear. Every movement she made revealed a nervous twitch.

Press and hold the button repeatedly, and it will open again.

"Ms. Tracy, Senior Trader, we need you to describe in detail the rulers of the Harkosus Federation, the Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce. Please provide any information you deem necessary."

The trader abruptly turned her head to look at the wall, clearly startled. She remained silent for a long while before answering Van Cleef's question, "The Chamber of Commerce has three leaders, all from the same family."

"Ms. Tracy, please continue."

"I," the senior trader swayed as he stood up. Karyl squinted; her face had turned bluish-purple.

Van Cleef frowned and immediately pressed another button on the control panel.

The door to the room was opened, and two soldiers from the Eighth Legion immediately approached to check her vital signs. But it was too late; five seconds after uttering that one and only message about the Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce, Senior Trader Tracy died.

"Instructor?" The company commander turned his head seriously, looking at Karyl who had walked up to him. "Should we continue?"

"Let's leave that aside," Karyl said. "Get the body to the medical hall, and get Jairzinho here too. Looks like my paperwork will have to be postponed again tonight."

He sighed.

--

Jairzinho Guzman looked solemnly at the corpse in front of him and put down the scalpel in his hand.

"No toxins remaining, instructor," the medic said over the comms. "Neither the air samples from the room where she died, nor her own body, have we detected any possible toxins."

"Could it be another method?" Karyl asked. "Like a machine implanted inside her brain, triggered whenever she utters a related message, thus forcing her to die immediately?"

"If it's that kind of thing, you should probably have it tested by a priest from the Mechanicum. Besides, I don't believe there really is something so small and powerful that it can not only exist in the human brain but also detect whether the host's every word crosses a line."

Jairzinho Guzman sighed as he walked out of the isolation room. After undergoing a series of complicated disinfection procedures, he finally appeared before Karyl.

"To be honest, instructor, I don't think this might even fall under the category of medicine," the medical officer said. "It seems that every time something concerns you, it has nothing to do with medicine."

"Although I sent someone to bring this body to the medical hall, it had absolutely no connection to me during its lifetime."

Karyl looked at the physician with amusement, noticing the unmistakable resentment in his words—which was not entirely incomprehensible.

After all, for a doctor to witness a dead person gradually come to life from nothingness is indeed a huge shock. The reason why Jairzinho Guzman has not yet begun to doubt the world is probably only because of his trust in the Primarch and Karyl.

"But her death was indeed unrelated to medicine." The medical officer turned his head, glanced through the laminated glass at the body resting on the iron platform, and shook his head.

"The cause of death was suffocation. But logically speaking, five seconds is far from enough for someone to die from suffocation. She was also very healthy, without any similar, possibly strange, symptoms. I haven't found any possible cause, Instructor. I have to say, if this continues, I'm afraid I'll have to find one of those theological books published by our cousins."

"The Word Bearers?" Karyl raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I've actually read some of their books; they're indeed very well-written, but they require a certain reading level." Guzman shook his head. "Anyway, that's the situation. You probably won't find any truth about her death here."

Karyl nodded thoughtfully, then spoke softly.

"It's alright," he said calmly. "Then let the deceased rest in peace."

Two more chapters