Timestamp: 7.432.996.M41

Location: Icenholm/Gorgonid Mine, Sepheris Secundus, Glogenna Reach

Situation: Gathering intelligence on the situation in the Sepheris Secundus system.

Body: Within 24 hours of landing on Sepheris Secundus the intelligence gathering was going along quite nicely.

-----

Maxi headed for the Solitarium and met up with Proctor Noles Rotlan, a relatively young and energetic officer for his rank. He got transferred to Sepheris Secundus three months ago, following the death of the previous Proctor. The late proctor and 70 of his most veteran enforcers (10% of the Arbites presence on the planet) got killed while investigating heretical activities in the Shatters (the Shatters is a catchall for those mines that have been worked out and closed; they are home to runaway serfs and mutants). A most unusual event, since there are few things Arbitrators can't handle - and these were loaded and ready for trouble, moving as they were in response to the disappearance of a platoon of Royal Scourges (by themselves sufficient to deal with most serf-related trouble).

Proctor Rotlan made some attempts at learning what happened to his fellows, and was pretty sure it had to do with the massive outbreak of wyrds (rogue psykers) from the Ordo Hereticus holding facility three years ago. Normally psykers would be held at the Solitarium pending transfer to a Black Ship, so this is somewhat surprising. Turns out Sepheris Secundus has an above-average rate of mutation, quite a bit above the norm in fact. And with 12 billion people to mutate from...that's a lot of mutants. And psykers are mutants...so it stands to reason Sepheris Secundus has more cargo for the Black Ships that you'd think. Hence the existence of the holding facility - all the really dangerous psykers were kept there - since the Arbites just handed over the psykers to the Inquisition as soon as they got hold of them.

At any rate many of the escaped rogue psykers died in the wilderness, were hunted down by Hereticus Kill Teams, may have gotten off-world, but a great many are still unaccounted for (and some of them quite powerful and completely insane). Rotlan believed some of these powerful wyrds had banded together with the mutants found in the Gorgonid Shatters, creating a force more powerful than the Scourges and Arbites could handle. That was as far as Rotlan had gotten - he knew something of what awaited below the surface, but he could not understand WHY they stood up against the Arbites - even mutants and wyrds know that doing so will only bring down the heavy heel of the Imperium! Better they had kept a low profile and avoided the authorities. That is what they usually do.

Then something happened less than a month ago that stirred up things real good. Inquisitor Rykehuss arrived with one light infantry Guard division and some supporting naval assets. They closed down the lower parts of the mine by deploying the division there, but more importantly they closed down all civilian air traffic, meaning that no more ore could be carried from the ground and onto the waiting freighters in orbit. Quite catastrophic for the planet's tithe.

Military matters aside - Rykehuss' arrival got Rotlan thinking. Looking through some old files he found references to the Brotherhood of Malice, a doomsday cult that had actively sought to provke the Imperium into destroying not only them, but everything around them. The cult had been deemed heretical and the Inquisitin had stamped it out years ago, back in the early 800s in fact. But guess what...the Brotherhood of Malice had used some of the same areas that now connected to the closed mine shaft. Quite a long shot of course, but definitely something to explain the Inquisition's arrival - wyrds, mutants, and heresy all rolled into one very potent ball...

Rotlan hasn't had the opportunity to do anything more, however. Just after the Inquisitor entered the mine the Arbites reinforcements Rotlan had requested arrived. All 4.000 or so, bringing the Icenholm/Solitarium detachment to its full projected strength. Way more than have ever been deployed to this world before. Someone on Scintilla must also be taking the situation very seriously. Added to the existing 1.000 man (Icenholm/Solitarium detachment + a small Arbites station in orbit that monotirs traffic, as well as Arbitrators away from the Solitarium on other assignments) garrison that's almost 5.000 Arbites, the majority of them inexperienced troopers. So now Rotlan is finding the day has too few hours as he struggles to manage and train 4.000 men here at Icenholm, while coordingating the 1.000 troopers he has seen fit to deploy elsewhere (Icenholm isn't the only place that experiences unrest).

Oh, he almost forgot. The Calixis Rapid Response Precinct is currently in orbit over Sepheris Secudnus, having arrived shortly before the Maiden. 12.000 Arbites veterans with full riot suppression gear housed within a massive black slab of a fortress. The have not replied to Rotlan's calls any more than the Guard division has, so the Proctor is assuming that they are under orders from Inquisitor Rykehuss or someone else with very high clearances.

-----

Haxtes successfully landed in the mine's lower reaches (the open part anyway) and infiltrated the 97th Scintillan Guard Division, 577th Infantry Regiment. Or what remained of it anyway. After being spotted by one Private Edwin Jurtz, the only alert sentry remaining in the immediate are, Haxtes was taken to see the one-armed Sergeant Raynard. He was not very forthcoming, but brought Haxtes to see the Regimental Commissar Nihilius - clearly Haxtes' cover was working quite well.

Nihilius was found within the prefabricated hab-units serving as Regimental Headquarters. A few hours of talking and a few drinks revealed that the bulk of the 577th, about 5.000 men, had followed one Inquisitor Rykehuss (Ordo Hereticus) into the mine. The seal was closed after them on the Inquisitors orders, not to be opened except by his authority. That was 14 days ago.

Only a few score men remains to the 577th - men left behind because they were injured (like Raynard) or otherwise unfit to go into combat (Private Jurtz was quite devastated when the Inquisition ordered him to remain). The Commissar grudgingly admits that the reason he was left behind was that he disagreed with the Inquisitor - whatever awaited in those mines had  slaughtered both Royal Scourges and veteran Arbitrators...and the 577th isn't a real Guard Regiment at all, just a PDF unit dragooned by the Inquisitor because it was assembled for maneuvers just outside Hive Tarsus on Scintilla (making it easy to gather it and transport it here).

----

The rest of the team had not learned as much, since their cover required them to be a bit more circumspect. They did learn, however, that the Governor/Queen has her own astropathic choir. And since Rotlan made no mention about the Arbites calling for outside help (other than requesting some reinforcements to replace losses suffered in the mine) that points to the government of Sepehris Secundus being responsible. Perhaps not a big surprise, but it shows that the situation is grave - Governors are always loathe to beg for outside help. Makes them look weak and always results in the Imperium asserting more control.

Other than that they concluded that the Queen was very old and decrepit, but that she refused to give up power. It's been that way for the better part of a century now, but somehow the wheels of government keeps turning and the tithe is met. Appeared to be lots of court intrigue as well, but that's expected. No mention of any cults or heresies up in Icenholm. Only unspoken indignation about the closing down of the entire mine complex. That they felt was completely uncalled for.

The city team would probably have learned more if they had more time, but deep below in the mine a very eager Acolyte was about to quicken the pace...