Wolves
Inquisition

The hangar bay doors opened, revealing the dark,star-spotted void of space. Captain Vault stood in front of the maindoorway leading back to the hallways. He had made certain the straycrates and barrels were organized, and all the equipment was in itsproper place. A small, slim shuttlecraft cruised through the massiveentrance. It was nearly silent, humming in a low, subdued tone. Vaultnoticed IRO's symbol—a diamond-shaped eyeball—painted on the hullof the ship.

Thrusters ejecting steam from their pipes, theshuttlecraft landed in the hangar bay, its landing gear lightlytouching down onto the floor and resting under the weight of thevehicle. The ramp tilted down. A lone figure waited at the top untilthe ramp touched the floor. Vault stood up straight, drawing a deeperbreath. Once the ramp made contact with the floor, the figuredescended, every step precise.

Hands folded behind his back, the agent from IROstepped off the ramp and walked toward Captain Vault. The agent worea black uniform, with a collar that covered his neck and a slimleather coat that came down to his knees. His boots were a glossyblack, strapped and buttoned all the way to the top. The man himselfhad an odd look about his face, as he always seemed to remain in acalm, pensive expression. It was almost disturbing how pleasant helooked at the same time. It was as if he enjoyed his demeanor ofemotionless calculation.

“I take it you're the agent sent by IRO?” Vaultbegan, as the man stopped in front of him. The agent took a moment toscan the area, all while seeming rather rigid.

“Agent Janus Dart: Elite Inquisitor,” the manreplied, extending his hand to shake it. Vault shook his hand, butfelt a subtle power within Agent Dart: one which could not beexpressed in a single word or a single emotion. It was like Dart kneweveryone's thoughts before they even came to pass. “Sent personallyby Highest Intellect Tirion.”

“Animpressive credential, certainly. So do you know how long you will bestaying aboard the Indefatigable?”

“As soon as I replace the truth,” Dart answered,looking Vault in the eyes for the first time. “My mission is not tothrow the first man who confesses or seems to be the culprit into theback of a shuttle and be on my way. That seems to be a commonmisconception among GAM officers. My mission is to replace the truth.Whatever anyone is hiding, I will replace. Whatever has happened aboardthis ship, I will know.”

Vault paused as the agent continued to look him in theeyes with a cold, intense gaze. “Excellent,” Vault struggled togrin. “I'll direct you to your quarters now. However, I must tellyou that if you intend to speak with any of the Death Squad, youshould do so soon, as they'll be leaving in approximately ten hoursfor their next mission.”

“I'm aware. I read your schedule on the way here.”

Traw tapped his razor on the edge of his narrow sink,looking up to the mirror again. He was finishing the last section ofhis gruff beard. It felt good to be clean-faced again. As he placedthe razor at the border of his cream-laden beard, he heard a knock atthe door. “Usually they ring,” he muttered. “Come in!”

AgentDart stood in the doorway. He held a datapad in his hand, reading itover. “DS05 Sebastian Paul Traw. Husband to Louise Mayella Traw,father to Luella Grace Traw. One brother, Miles Timothy Traw, diedduring the 2ndSinoan Rebellion. Parents undocumented. 6' 1'', 189 lbs, IQ 108.Graduated from..”

“Alright, alright,” Traw interrupted, putting hishand up. “I get it. You got a lot of info about me. So you're thatspook from IRO?”

Dart stepped into the room, the door closing behindhim. He clicked off the datapad. In a terse, stern voice, heanswered, “Correct. I'm going to ask you some questions regardingthe activity aboard this ship and the tasks you've executed under theGAM, and you will answer them. I have been trained rigorously foreight years to identify verbal deception and avoiding a question. Iwill know if you are lying.”

“Don't you people usually carry some array of nastytools made to rip out my teeth or stab my eyeballs or somethin' likethat?” Traw joked, setting the razor down on the small counter.

Dart cocked his head, almost amused that Traw had askedsuch a question. “DS05...Inquisitors like myself don't requirecrude syringes and blades for interrogations. I can extract thosesecrets from your brain using nothing but ten fingers and two lips.”Dart and Traw took a long look at one another, like two feral dogs ata standoff.

“But I won't be torturing you,” Dart assured,grinning. “Not today. That would be hasty. I only want to askquestions for now. So recall exactly what happened duringthis...physical disagreement at 17:35 yesterday. Spare no details.”

Traw took a deep breath, transporting himself back tothat point. “We were in the training room, talking for a fewminutes...me, Sanchez, Aveer and Moore. Then one of us realized thatClayton was missing. We hadn't seen him all day. So we went outlooking for him, after Vault had told us he found Clayton's trackerin the portside barrack section. We went in there, and the wholeplace was desolate. It was pretty weird. I don't know why therewasn't anyone around. But anyways, we saw Clayton stumble against awall about...I don't know, forty yards down the corridor.”

“Andyou saw himget pushed in that direction?” Dart clarified.

“Well, no...but the six attackers came for him rightafter he was pushed against the wall. And that's when me and thethree other fellas started running down toward Clayton's position.The six Marines were beatin' and kickin' on him until we arrived, andthen the four of us roughed 'em up pretty good. They're in theinfirmary now.”

“It sounds like a bloody fight. Yet I see no bruiseson you,” Dart noted.

Traw paused, looking himself over. Then he realizedAgent Dart was right: neither he nor the other three men had sufferedany injuries. “Either way,” Traw continued, “we got seven menin the infirmary now. What else do you wanna know?” Traw made surehe expressed his disinterest in the inquiries.

Dart glanced over at the picture of Luella and Louisehanging on the wall. “I have one other question,” he concluded,his gaze lingering on the picture. “What would you give to keepthem safe?”

Traw was confused for a moment. He looked over at thepicture as well, focusing his vision on his two most beloved.“Anything,” he replied. “Anything at all.”

“Hm,” Agent Dart noted to himself. “I willinclude that in my writeup. Be prepared for another inquiry, should Ineed more information.” At that, the agent left the room in anorderly manner. He seemed neither irritated nor defensive. Trawscanned him as he left, wondering what the last comment was about.

AGAM dropships soared through the sky, cutting through the aridMartian atmosphere. The Death Squad sat in the cabin, tapping theedges of their seats and the tips of their gun barrels. Claytonremained in the infirmary aboard the Indefatigable.“So how'bout that IRO spook? Who called in the robot?” Moore smirked.

“Dude's got issues,” Sanchez muttered, examiningthe magazine on his gun. “He started asking about my hood andfamily after he pried into all that shit with Clayton and theMarines.”

“He asked about my village,” Aveer recalled, hisvoice deeper than usual. “My wife, child, elders. I told him onlywhat he needed.”

“Yeah, speakin' of which, what exactly did you do toget on this team? You just mentioned something about protectin' yourvillage. Doesn't give us a lot of reason for keepin' you around,”Moore wondered, relentless in his inquiry.

Aveer paused, looking Moore straight in the eyes. “Welive in marshes and swamps. No one comes around who doesn't livethere. But a Nektro platoon came to my village on foot. So me and myson took up our spears and killed every one of them, before the lastfew fled. There were one hundred and eighteen Nektro corpses in ourswamp that day and one corpse of a man. That man was my son.”

“You killed 'em with spears?” Traw exclaimed.

“Yes. I also used a log once.”

“Damn, son,” Sanchez remarked. “I mean, me andthe gang took to the street and lit up a bunch of the bastards, butthat ain't nothin' like what you did. All I did was use a Nektrocannon against the mothership. Damn...I've never even picked up aspear.”

“Kudos, man,” Moore granted, tipping his helmet.“Anyway, I'm not likin' the looks of that Agent Dart. I don't trusthim. One hair stands up on the back of my head.”

Vault was preparing a letter of condolence for one ofthe two Marines who remained in critical condition. The medics hadinformed the captain their conditions were steadily declining. Evenif they survived, there would be months of painful rehabilitation, aswell as severe disability, which would render them useless for mostother jobs. Vault recalled a time when the GAM itself could be suedfor such an incident. Those days were long since past, especiallywith the GAM hosting Rank Alpha during wartime.

There was a knock on the door. “Enter,” Vaultbeckoned, a bit perplexed as to why the doorbell was not used. AgentDart entered the room once the door opened. “Ah, what brings you tomy office, Agent?”

Tirion waited to answer, scanning Vault's office in thesame manner he did in the hangar bay when he first arrived. “Atease, Captain Vault,” Dart assured, remaining standing. “I'm hereto inform you of my inquisition...and the consequent results.”Captain Vault closed out the file on his computer.

“I'm listening,” Vault told Tirion, resting hiselbows on the desk.

“I am surprised to inform you that your Death Squadhas an overall intact report. They all recalled the same event, witha few minor details varying, of course. One man said it was fortyyards down the corridor, another said it was thirty five. Those kindsof differences are irrelevant. However, Michael Sanchez did reportthat one of his opponents was armed with a knife. That did notcoordinate with my existing hypothesis.”

“What hypothesis?” Vault wondered.

“The theory I had formulated was that this skirmishwas some sort of...staged event. Notice that none of the Death Squadmembers, save Clayton of course, have any bruises on them. There areno broken bones. None of your men have so much as a scratch on theirskin, despite an apparent struggle. Yet, there are six Marines whohave been trained longer, have served longer, and were more in numberand size. I replace this rather peculiar. But what I replace more peculiaris your...indifference toward the situation. This incident alonewould be enough to send an Elite Inquisitor aboard your ship. And youhave never proven yourself to be truly loyal to the GAM and RankAlpha. To be perfectly honest, Captain Vault, you are my primesuspect for all of this.”

Vault slipped back into his chair, his soul fillingwith dread. “I've only ever done what's best for my ship and mycrew,” he assured Agent Dart. “And as for Commander GeneralVenko, I've wondered why IRO hasn't launched an investigation on him.In terms of suspicious behavior, his counts rack up sevenfold overmine.”

“You think we don't have our eyes on him?” Dartquipped. “Our operatives within the GAM have been watching him foryears. If anything surfaces, you can be sure we will replace its roots.Worry not, Captain Vault. However, there is something quite damninghere that should demand your attention.”

Dart tapped the screen on his datapad and turned itabout to face Captain Vault. It displayed slightly grainy footage ofhim and the other Death Squad members sitting in that very office,when Vault was concluding his briefing regarding Agent Dart. “So ifyou have any dirty secrets,” Vault heard himself say over thelittle speakers on the datapad, “now'll be the time to dispose ofthem.” Tirion turned it about to face himself and tapped the screenagain.

“This alone would be more than enough to have yousitting before a panel of generals in court martial,” Agent Dartinformed the Captain. His tone was slightly more menacing, but stillcalm and informative.

“Then why don't you throw me into the back of yourshuttlecraft and drag me back to Neptune?” Vault glared boldly atDart and set his jaw.

“Because I want the truth. The entire truth. You seemto think my job consists of only prying information out of people andmoving on. I've already explained this to you: my duty is to makecertain the truth is put to light, and taking you to GAM headquarterswith cuffs on your hands and a fraction of possible evidence would befailing at my task. So I will remain aboard your ship untileverything hidden is made known and any secrets are in my possession.Am I clear?”

Vault nodded, avoiding Dart's gaze. “I want to hearit, Captain Vault. Am I clear?”

Vault looked Dart in the eyes. “Yes, Agent Dart. Iunderstand.”