My taking the VIP to the World Governor's palace wasn't just to get on the world leadership's good side... No, I was well aware that the damned Mechanium had me on their blacklist for daring to make and improve technology I hadn't 'found' that had been in a junk pile for millennia.
No, I had a very important plan for going to the top spires of the Hive City. See for all that I want to use ai-robots to strip trash and mass produce my Glimmer fabricators or likewise just use robots in general to simplify fucking everything.
I literally couldn't. That was one of the easiest ways to get a bolter round to the back of the head from my own forces. As making 'Men of Iron' or Ai something that could learn and do shit for me was banned in the Imperium of Man.
So until I got a Writ of Trade or, likewise, an Inquisitor's Rosary that screamed to all. 'Rules for thee, not for me!' I needed to play nice as I knew I was toeing the line with how I was a powerful 'pysker' and already fucking about with genetics in how I made my supersoldiers.
The trip itself up to the Upper Spires of the Hive City was marked with extreme violence. Though more of dealing with the established gangers and only a few heretics before we reached the heavily protected elevators, and with our clearance we were soon heading up to the middle of the Hive City.
From there, it was smooth sailing as the few gangsters of the Middle Hive didn't dare fuck with the Custodian and 'Space Marine' even though the people gawked at us as we continued making our way through the Hive City.
And from there we reached one of the Hive Cities intake ports. Where massive freighter ships would typically be taking in resources, in this hive city's case. Sending off the tanks the world was so famous for. And obviously sending the Imperial Tithe of Guardsmen to be spent on a million battlefields across the Galaxy.
'Ok... Crysis Suit, do your thing.' I thought as with each footfall I left behind on the cracks in the massive landing pad we were walking on as we walked towards the ship that would take us to the governor's palace. With each step I took, I left behind hair-thin, tiny worm-like machines.
And those machines were programmed to crawl through the grates and into the medium-sized freighter ships that had been moored on this world due to the Chaos incursion with all freighter ships being planet-bound.
In order to prevent the cultists from getting reinforcements or likewise fleeing the world to trouble another.
'Gods be damned though... These ships are fucking huge. I am going to need an ai or something to pilot it, though.' I thought with a small frown as I gazed at a Carrack-class Transport which was one of the smaller interstellar ships at two kilometers long.
Which had a fucking crew size of around 20,000. This universe didn't play with small numbers, so I needed to pick out a ship that lost its pilot/crew on this world due to its problems so it wouldn't be as noted. And then while shit is going on, I can lock down the ship and set upon a bunch of Ai-driven robots to clean it of any Xenos hiding in its bowels.
Get rid of any servitors and the mutants that were also likely hiding within the bowels of the ship. And then upgrade the ship with an entire laundry list of stuff so it could be run more efficiently by a much smaller crew.
"My lords, please come onto this airship." A more decorated Planetary Defense Force officer spoke while saluting towards us.
And we were all escorted onto a planetary/atmosphere-locked ship that quickly took us from the docks to another more private dock in the Spires of the Hive City.
With Barghest's voice came through my comms system as she said with disgust. "The world is so different in the Spire... I used to be so blind to the world, but even the servitors here are dressed well and made to look appealing."
I nodded and said coldly and logically. "The people living in the Spires are in their own entire ecosystem. They not only do not even breathe the same air as the people of the middle hive, or even the Upper Hive most likely. But they likely never even leave the Spire in their entire lives."
The Governor's Palace alone was utterly massive, to put it bluntly. And well protected to boot as the palace itself had its own void shielding to protect it from anyone who might want to shoot a rocket or something at it from the Hive below.
We soon let the VIP out of his casket with the man puffing about and looking rather sweaty as he pulled at his collar at the enclosed heat her was probably in. But I wasn't too worried about it.
And it took a solid hour... A solid fucking hour of walking to get through the winding damned hallways and multiple separate elevators that were designed to help protect the innards of the palace from being invaded, for us to reach the City governor.
The City Governor was an old... Very old and VERY fat man who ruled from his anti-gravity throne. And the moment he saw us he visibly chewed on his reaction before he snarled out. "Well, I see the Inquisitor knows to make my needs come first. However, I demanded Ablonse specifically so he could bring me what I needed... And he does not have what I need!" He screeched at the end.
I gave the City Governor a long, dull look through my helmet and I saw how there were a great many of servitor guards hidden in the shadows of the alcoves of his throne room. Each was armed with heavy Las rifles that were far more powerful than normal Hellbore las-guns.
But with our energy shielding, Las-fire was the last thing I was worried about honestly.
Instead, I spoke calmly. "City Governor. I was given the task of bringing this man to you... Through gang-infested territory, past corrupt guards, and heretics most foul. I was not given the order to cart an Underhive woman for your personal pleasure to the place."
The governor snorted and then he waved his hand angrily that was covered in rings. "Then, you Space Marines. Kill Ablonse, if he is so dull that he cannot fulfill my needs then I have no want of him living."
I paused hearing him order it and before I could react the Custodes reached over and his power armor hand closed around the man's head and in a split moment, the head pulped into blood and gore with cranium bones shooting out like shrapnel from the force of the instant kill.
And I noted that the governor's large floating throne was protected by another minature energy shield as well, when a bone or something made the energy shield flicker around the edges.
"Now leave my palace! You stink of those lower misbegotten wretches and I will not have you taint my purified air no longer!" The governor howled and I tilted my head to the side as I looked at the governor.
Although I wasn't a true-born Pysker... I did have senses for the immaterial and I could taste the tinges of taint on him. Maybe he has been poisoned by some amount of Chaos by Nurgles forces landing on the world.
Or maybe he was even tainted by Slaanesh in some minor way by the hedonistic lifestyle he lived if he was so debased as needing regular shipments of women no one would notice going missing.
Either way, I merely took a deep breath before I decided to go balls to the wall. "Custodian I have a major question to ask you."
There was a pause as the Custodian looked at me and I could see the Governer shrink in on himself as he registered what the Custodian actually was. In not being a mere Space Marine anyway.
"What happens... When a Hivecity/World Governer is found guilty of treason and cavorting with the Great Enemy?" I asked rhetorically.
And within a split moment. The Custodian answered flatly. "Their lines are purged root and stem. Their leadership also purged to root out any further corruption and then the lower rungs are evaluated for being re-educated or purged as well."
I held out my blessed Rosary and with a hint of my will the Emperor's golden holy flames alight as I opened the Vox call I already created to the Inquisitor and I spoke. "Lord Gryndel... The governor is a traitor. The Emperor's flames themselves are alit in his presence! Heresy... Of the most base form is within a dozen meters of myself. Your orders then?"
The governor was absolutely flabbergasted at what was happening and then Grendyl's modulated force came through the open Vox call coldly. "Deal with the Governor Jake Bariss, my agents and men are en route to lock down the palace. Use the Governer's signet ring to lower the palace's defenses when you are done with him."
And with a harsh crackle, the call was dropped.