Chapter 17: The Warden

"We are the Flames of the Great Phoenix. We are the Talons of the Beast Who Incinerates. We are the Executioners of the Holy Emperor. When legions route, we stand. When traitors rise, we burn. And when duty calls, we answer."

- Official Motto of the Armada of the Ashes.

By the time Warden Locke arrived at the Communication Center, a heavily defended chamber in the 1st District, Vice Warden Jason Stone was there already.

The Vice Warden was practically the opposite of the Warden. While Henry was a veteran, Jason was a man in his twenties who came from a noble family. From what he told the women among the prison guards and employees, Jason's father was a Vice Admiral in a planetary defense fleet. His family had produced four fleet commanders in three generations.

So why was Jason here, working as the Vice Warden of a prison on the Capital World of Valorion instead of following the footsteps of his family members and joining the fleet? Jason never talked about this, but Henry suspected it was simply an acute case of cowardice.

Why join the fleet and fight against enemies who could shoot back while you could beat the crap out of defenseless prisoners?

As a combat veteran, Locke looked down upon his second in command. At the same time, he knew very well that his authority meant little when dealing with the young and arrogant man.

As soon as Locke entered the room, all the officers and guards inside the room stood up and gave him a crisp imperial salute. Jason, on the other hand, just stood there on the side with his arms folded and smirked.

As Henry nodded at his subordinates and sent them back to work, Jason took a step forward and talked to his boss with little respect in his voice. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Without saying a thing, Henry made his way to the only device, a Computing Interface, on the island that was linked into a secured network that was connected to the outside world. With a few clicks on the keyboard, he entered his security code into the system. The officers at the station were quick to look away for fear of accidentally peeking the code.

Jason did a similar thing and entered his code as well.

Once both security codes were logged, the computer system did its magic, and the Computing Interface gained access to the message from ONI. Instead of displaying the message with the holo-projector for everyone in the room to see, the system directed the message to the Mounted Interfaces on both the Warden and the Vice Warden.

Giving the communication officers a nod of courtesy, Henry looked down on his MI. Mounted Interfaces were an everyday necessity for Imperial citizens. Electronic devices attached to the forearms of their users, Mounted Interfaces allowed their users to access the planetary network from wherever they wanted. They served a list of purposes, from checking messages to making phone calls to streaming videos to storing and displaying information.

Of course, Henry's MI, and the MI of everyone on the island, were modified ones that could only access the closed network on the island. The Warden's particular device could control the cell doors of all the prison districts and the blast doors of the entire facility, among other uses.

As soon as Henry looked down and saw the message from ONI displayed before his eyes, he froze. After that, he checked the message again and again just to make sure this wasn't some sort of sick joke. Finally, after his fifth examination, Jason, who was beside him and saw the message as well, got impatient.

"You blind, old man?"

His tone was the exact opposite of polite. In most cases, an Imperial personnel who talked to their superior like this could be flogged and no one would bat an eye about it. Even a Vice Warden was no different. Still, Jason was reckless. What did he have to fear? He knew Henry all too well, and the old man who was determined to retire peacefully would never do anything that could jeopardize that plan, much less simply due to him being rude.

Henry drew a deep breath in frustration, but the veteran, like Jason expected, didn't retaliate. Instead, he merely gave the Vice Warden an order.

"I will handle this." His voice sounded conflicted.

Jason snickered. "Whatever you say, boss. Plus, I've got better things to do…"

Henry's eyes followed the young man as his arrogant figure disappeared at the door. He didn't like the Vice Warden. Not a bit. The man was as inexperienced and arrogant as he was young, and yet, simply due to his family background, he was given authority over the lives of countless veterans. Experienced troops who risked their lives protecting the Holy Phoenix Empire and the Count were forced to obey the commands of...of a child.

It was unfair, yet that was what life was. Unfair. This was a lesson Henry learned ages ago, and everything Count Lamb had been doing only reinforced this lesson.

The Warden slowly made his way out of the Communication Center. He walked across the hallway in silence, his fists held into tight balls as his mind wondered what he could do. Soldiers and other prison personnel saluted at him as he walked by, but the Warden was in no mood of responding.

After what felt like an eternity, the Warden was back in his office. Sasha greeted him, as nice and professional as always, but the Warden ignored her. He felt like an exhausted old man as he returned to his office, slamming the door shut behind him.

The old man sat in his seat for a long time. His eyes stared at the ceiling. Deep down, he knew all too well what would eventually happen. What he would eventually do. A part of him refused to believe it, to acknowledge it, but it was a futile resistance.

Some things couldn't be stopped, and trying to stop the unstoppable would only result in the meaningless resistance being crushed alive.

The Warden raised his right hand and tapped the MI mounted on his left forearm. On the screensaver were three familiar figures. His wife and his two girls. They had wide smiles on their faces. It was up to him to make sure those smiles would remain on when he went home.

And thus, his mind was made.

The Warden looked up from his MI and turned to the door before calling out for his secretary. "Sasha!"

The door was opened, and the young woman walked in, her professional smile still on her lips as he gave the Warden a salute. "Sir."

"Sit." Henry pointed at an empty chair in front of his table, his voice making it clear to the secretary that saying no wasn't an option.

"Thank you, sir." Sasha wisely sat down in the seat. She was still wondering what this was about. Perhaps she was getting a raise? Or maybe she was fired? That was when the Warden said something that she didn't quite expect.

"You have a brother, don't you, Sasha?"

"Uh...yes sir." As surprised as she was, Sasha did her best to come up with a reply. "Patrick. He is serving in Battlefleet Obsidian. He's a Marine." Her lips curled up a little when her brother was mentioned. "Uh...why, if you don't mind me asking, sir?"

"Well," Henry froze there for a few seconds before answering her doubts. "There has been an...incident. Your brother...some of his fellow Marines reported him as being suspicious. You know...talking to people he shouldn't be talking to. Asking questions that, well...that should never be asked."

At this point, Sasha could no longer maintain her professional form. Her mouth hung open in shock and disbelief. By the time Henry finished, the young woman shook her head. "Sir...this is impossible, sir! Patrick would never do something like this! I mean...I guess he has always been an emotional person, but...but he is not a traitor! You have to believe me, sir!"

"I know." The Warden said quietly. There was a sense of defeat in his voice as he stared into the dark green eyes of his secretary. "Don't worry, Sasha. They are still investigating what is going on. I have been sent to ask you a few questions. Tell me, Sasha, and please be honest with me...do you know anyone that your brother might have been working with? Do you know anything he might have been...planning?"

The secretary simply collapsed in her seat and shook her head. "I don't know, sir...I never heard anything about this from my brother! No...I still don't believe he could've done something like this!"

"As I said, they are still investigating." Henry repeated as Sasha's voice grew more and more agitated. "Don't worry. If your brother truly was innocent, then everything will be fine for him. ONI will never do anything entirely on suspicion…" He almost wanted to laugh at the last few sentences, for they couldn't be further away from the truth.

Still, the Warden suppressed his urges to laugh and kept his eyes on Sasha. The poor woman was weeping in her seat. Henry's reassurance might have helped, but clearly not by much. Finally, with decades of experience under his belt, the Warden was confident Sasha had told him the truth. Whatever his brother might or might not have been a part of, Sasha knew nothing about it.

"Very well." He finally said to the poor woman. "You may return to your post now, Sasha. I will keep you updated on the situation. And...I believe you and your brother are innocent."

Sasha nodded and stood up. "Thank you, sir." She nodded her head at the Warden in gratitude before standing up and making her way to the door.

Just as she had her back facing Henry, the Warden reached into his holster, pulled out his Arbiter Gauss Pistol, and shot Sasha in the head.