9. NEVERMORE (III)

It was important to handle matters according to rules and regulations.

Not that one had to be rigid and stubborn, following every detail to the letter; it was simply that doing so reduced a great many unnecessary troubles.

For instance, using the convenient operating system after its third update on the Grand Inquisitor, he sent a string of identification codes to Deliverance's space station, then immediately followed it with a communication request—but the Raven Guard were extremely wary of this warship that had appeared out of nowhere, one that could quite reasonably be prefixed with the word "terror."

They did not rashly accept the communication. Instead, they demanded secondary verification.

Secondary verification was a commonly used old naval term. However, after such a long period of evolution, it had branched out and developed different forms across the Imperium's major sectors.

Take Segmentum Tempestus, where Deliverance was located. In the local context, it generally referred to speaking face-to-face.

Troublesome.

Kael frowned, but still fastened the buttons of his coat.

Laerhe would usually handle such matters in his stead, but it was currently serving a prison term of neither particularly short nor particularly long duration—it lay listlessly sprawled across the command throne on the bridge, occasionally letting out a couple of strange grumbles.

Kael paid it no heed. He merely put on his ordinary Inquisition uniform with care, smoothed out its wrinkles, and then headed alone for the hangar.

He had brought no assistants on this mission. Apart from one prisoner and one Sister, only he and Laerhe remained aboard the ship.

It had been a long time since he had acted alone like this. Thinking about it, he even felt a little nostalgic. But soon, he faced an entirely new problem.

How precisely was he supposed to maneuver the shuttle into