The Sentence Was Too Harsh

Inquisitor Vandel stood against the wall with his eyes closed, listening to the confessions filling the room.

He had been an Inquisitor long enough to tell whether those voices were sincere.

The others from the Inquisition behind him were no better off.

More than twenty Inquisitors from the Maelstrom branch had come this time. They stood scattered around the edge of the cell, each in a different posture, but their expressions were remarkably alike.

The Inquisitors sent to handle the matter were wavering.

Ordinarily, subordinate departments of the Inquisition could never question orders from their superiors.

But this time...

If...

If the Mantis Warriors and the Lamenters both proved unwaveringly loyal, had the High Lords Council's sentence truly been too harsh?

Excommunicate Traitoris.

Their bodies purged, their gene-seed destroyed, their names erased forever.

It was the harshest punishment in the Imperium's legal system, the ultimate sentence for traitors.

The Sons of Horus, the Word Bearers, the Emperor's Children, the World Eaters, the Iron Warriors... That punishment belonged to traitors who had willingly joined Chaos and murdered their own.

Excommunicate Traitoris was meant for true rebels.

Not loyalists who had been deceived.

The Mantis Warriors and the Lamenters had not joined Chaos. Their rebellion had begun because they had been misled.

If deceived loyalists received the same sentence as true rebels, had the High Lords Council and the Inquisition acted unjustly?

The young Inquisitor's mentor stood beside him.

The young Inquisitor's lips moved. "I think the sentence really was too harsh."

The middle-aged Inquisitor did not turn. He watched the kneeling Mantis Warriors and said evenly, "That isn't for you to say. Be quiet."

Lin En stood to one side, not particularly worried.

He no longer had to watch the Inquisitors' faces. Now they had to watch his.

The Inquisition