May 27th at 10:33am
SCENE 37

The guards at the entrance of the communications tower reacted immediately when Bryce stepped onto the rusty bridge. Rifle lights converged on the group through the industrial fog while one of the soldiers raised a hand for them to stop.

“Halt. Identification.”

Bryce did not slow her pace while showing her crozius imperialis badge.

-Commissar Bryce. Prefectus Command`s High Commissariat authority. Open the gate.-

The guards exchanged uncertain glances. One activated a vox transmitter while another kept her heavy lasgun aimed directly at Thanatos. The former guardsman stared back at them with visible contempt, finger resting near the trigger of his weapon.

Several long seconds passed before static burst from the vox unit.

“Authority confirmed. Allow entry.”

The reinforced blast doors slowly opened behind the guards with a deep metallic groan. Warm air spilled outward not carrying the overwhelming sweet scent of refined P1-10.

The interior of the communications tower was smaller than Bryce expected. Narrow corridors surrounded an ancient cogitator core while flickering monitors displayed refinery output, atmospheric reports and troop deployment records connected to Red Reach. Servitors moved silently between terminals carrying stacks of data slates through the dim emergency lighting. Unlike the abandoned military sectors outside, everything here remained functional.

At the center of the chamber sat an old man behind a metal command desk covered in reports and illuminated tactical projections.

Thanatos immediately recognized Planetary Commissar Stulton, but the man before them looked nothing like the monster he had imagined. Old augmetics covered one side of Stulton’s face. Exhaustion hollowed his features and his uniform hung loosely from a thin frame, but his eyes remained sharp.

Commissar Bryce stood in front of Stulton’s command desk and looked directly at him.

-By authority of the Imperial Commissariat and under the jurisdiction of the High Commissariat of Subsector Aurean, Jarsus Stulton, acting Planetary Commissar General, you stand accused of the following crimes:

-Continued non-payment of the Imperial planetary tithe of troops
-Diversion and unlawful deployment of Imperial Guard regiments, planetary defense forces and penal assets into undeclared containment operations.
-Illegal militarization of industrial sectors outside Administratum oversight.
-Gross negligence resulting in the deaths of approximately two point eight million Imperial personnel
-Falsification and destruction of military casualty records on a planetary scale.
-Unauthorized xeno-biological explotation and refinement operations beneath Red Reach.
-Unauthorized production and planetary distribution of psychoactive compounds derived from xeno biological material.
-Concealment of large-scale xeno infestation activity from Imperial authorities.

The chamber remained completely silent except for the distant vibrations of the mining machinery beneath the tower.

-And finally… Conduct unbecoming of a Commissar of the Imperium of Man.-

Commisar Bryce watched Stulton closely, waiting for anger, excuses or denial. None came. The old commissar simply remained on his feet beneath the dim light, staring silently at the young commissar and her retinue in front of him. Bryce insisted.

-You are accused of the disappearance of almost three million soldiers and creating the Pixie Dust drug. You stole those reinforcements to the Venisae Crusade, created the addiction, the distribution networks, the trafficking and everything that followed.-

Stulton remained silent for several seconds until he finally answered with a steely but tired voice.

-No. Pixie Dust already existed before I took command of Chagoth Primus.-

Thanatos narrowed his eyes.

-Convenient excuse!- he spitted, but Stulton ignored him.

-The previous Commissar General already knew of the properties of P1-10 long before the containment war escalated. At first it circulated only through mining crews and lower hive workers. Small quantities. Recreational use.-

His gaze drifted toward the glowing refinery statistics surrounding the chamber.
-Then Planetary productivity increased. Violence decreased. Recruitment quotas stabilized. Entire manufactorum districts became dependent on it within a few years.-

Bryce crossed her arms.
-And he profited from it.-

For the first time, visible disgust crossed Stulton’s face.
-Yes.-

The room fell quiet except for the endless mechanical vibrations beneath the tower.

-He diverted military resources into private distribution channels while workers starved above ground. Entire stockpiles disappeared into noble houses and criminal intermediaries.- Stulton’s voice remained calm, but exhaustion weighed beneath every word. -When I uncovered the scale of the corruption, I executed him.

Thanatos stared at him.
-And then you took his place.

-I inherited his catastrophe, soldier.- corrected Stulton quietly.

Bryce stepped closer to the desk.
-You could have shut Red Reach down.-

-No. I could not-

He nodded to a dark corner of the room, and a tech adept came into light. It activated several hololithic displays around the chamber. Economic projections, food distribution records and civil unrest reports illuminated the tower in reddish light.

-By the time I assumed command, Chagoth depended entirely on Pixie Dust. Hive productivity had reorganized itself around stimulant consumption. Food transport schedules, labor cycles, manufactorum quotas, even military recruitment efficiency.- His expression darkened slightly.-

Adept LIV processed the data displayed on the screens and turned her oculenses towards Commissar Bryce.
-Ref 1- Displayed data confirms current planetary dependency levels close to the 89,323%
╙►Adenda 1- Total societal destabilization estimated within eleven standard days.

-Then the xeno colonies expanded- continued Stulton -The pheromones attracted more of them toward Red Reach. More colonies required more containment forces. More containment forces produced more casualties. More casualties increased reproductive activity-

Thanatos accused him again
-So you kept feeding regiments into the tunnels-

-Yes.

Doctor Bast tightened her grip around the newborn creature wrapped against her chest.
-You sacrificed three million soldiers to preserve a narcotic economy-

Stulton slowly shook his head.
-No. I sacrificed three million soldiers to prevent planetary collapse, famine and civil war-

Bryce stared at him in disbelief.
-That is not a defense-

The old commissar looked suddenly older beneath the red lights.

-I know-
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The truth has been revealed. Now the judgement belongs to you. No pre-genererated options.
-What to do now?