After all, Abyss Port served as a crucial shipping lane from the Segmentum Obscurus to the Ultima Segmentum.
When the intercepting fleet towed the Retribution-class Battleship, with its bridge utterly mangled by explosions, back to the Starport, hundreds of millions of crew members and travelers would witness it, and public opinion would eventually be impossible to contain.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs was merely buying time for the Navy; the Gothic Fleet had to make a public statement about this matter.
But clearly, the fleet was not yet ready.
The meticulousness of administrative public relations was no less than the myriad aspects to consider when preparing for a large-scale fleet battle.
Hasty and reckless public relations would only push the situation into a worse abyss.
While the Gothic Fleet remained silent, small media outlets on the car channel were already discussing the matter.
The bureaucrats of the Ministry of Internal Affairs knew that suppressing the news was ineffective, so they kicked the ball to the Imperial Navy.
Information from the building broadcasted:
"Merchant ships passing by the Sacred Will reportedly found traces of explosion and burning on the bridge? What exactly happened in this accident? The Gothic Sector Navy Department has not yet issued an official statement. Do you want to know more?"
On the screen, a large group of reporters crowded in front of the Navy Department building, throwing a barrage of questions at Lord Admiral Venuska Katalia, who was wearing a windproof cloak and had just stepped out of her special vehicle.
The Lord Admiral ignored them, her face as taut as steel, walking up the steps and returning salutes to the officers who greeted her.
Horatio could already imagine the bureaucrats behind her excitedly shouting: "My mission is complete! I've covered for the fleet, but whether you live or die now is up to you; it has nothing to do with our Ministry of Internal Affairs."
He received a brief message transmitted via an encrypted signal.
The meeting point for the Inquisitor was chosen to be the Navy Department's "Sky Dome Cage."
He seemed to have adopted this eerie and terrifying interrogation cage as his base.
However, this did not surprise Horatio; it was even quite typical of an Inquisition Inquisitor.
Commodore Peru said that this adult arrived here not much earlier than he himself had disembarked from the battlecruiser yesterday.
In fact, many situations still required him to personally inform the Inquisitor.
He felt a headache coming on, unsure if it was because yesterday's wild night was too much, or if it was simply a natural headache at the thought of meeting an Inquisitor.
—
Farida, dressed in her uniform, sword in hand, descended from upstairs with a gloomy face and considerable presence.
Under duress from the Inquisition and the Commissar's power, the old butler had no choice but to invite these important figures in to be seated first.
Seeing the female Military Monitor descend from upstairs, a female Naval Military Prison wearing a white-brimmed military cap with golden tassels stood up from the sofa and saluted Farida.
She was about thirty years old, and her impeccable military uniform was very crisp.
She wore the distinctive attire of a Naval Fleet Military Prison: a white-brimmed military cap with golden tassels, a pristine and imposing high-collared jacket, deep red gloves, immaculately pressed black breeches, and a pair of shiny black patent leather boots, looking mighty and fierce.
The black, white, and gold color scheme was in stark contrast to the Astra Militarum Military Prison's black and red attire, and the colors were more reminiscent of the great-brimmed caps of Ancient Terra's 20th to 21st-century Naval Officers.
The cap band, representing the colors of each fleet, was affixed to the cap wall below the visor's brim. The Gothic Fleet's was dark green.
"Midshipman Hood, hello. I am Camerline, a Military Prison of the Gothic Sector Naval Commissar, true crimson grade, equivalent to a Commodore."
"Hello, what can I do for you all?" Farida remained grim-faced, her brows tightly furrowed as she returned the Military Monitor's salute.
"This is…"
"I'll do it myself."
A middle-aged man with a stern face, as if owed billions of debts, stood up. He appeared tall and imposing, his humorless face covered with scarred battle wounds, as if each one told of his dedication to the Imperium.
"I am William Carter, Inquisitor of the Saint Hammer Order. You may not know, but the Order I belong to has a more common name, the Demon Inquisition.
Among them, my master's branch comes from Inquisitor Fedis Falconet Horst, who should be very familiar to those of you who grew up in the Gothic Sector."
The man's face was grim, and with his purple eyes, originating from Cadia, he stared at Farida's uneasy, furrowed brows as if she were a chick that could be easily crushed.
Perhaps due to his prestigious lineage, this man exuded an unpleasant arrogance in his words.
Farida had, of course, heard of Inquisitor Horst.
During the Gothic War, that famous Inquisitor who mediated among various factions and ultimately enabled the Imperial Army to turn the tide, Fedis Falconet Horst, was known to everyone in the entire Gothic Sector, even today.
This made her feel an invisible, immense pressure.
"Yesterday, did demons appear in Abyss Port?"
"Inquisitor, I am just a low-ranking Naval Midshipman; I do not understand this matter. You can inquire at the Navy Department; I don't know anything about demons."
Farida was very displeased with the man's gaze; his cold purple eyes made her uncomfortable all over, and her words and actions showed only necessary, and only necessary, respect.
"No, you will soon no longer be a Naval Officer."
Farida frowned.
"What?"
"You will, as a Childer of Loyalty, become a Naval Fleet Military Prison, a part of the Military Supervisory Department," said the female Military Prison named Camerline.
Saint Hammer Order (Demon Court): A collection of fanatical individuals depicted by GW, a typical negative example. The conservatives of this Order think you're not radical enough. Pol Pot is considered mild in comparison. They are capable of things like joining the Grey Knights to brand the Space Wolves Chapter as traitors, opening fire on and besieging the Wolf cubs, causing 'The Month of Shame'—a 'everyone is innocent, but everyone is hurt' kind of fanatical Order.
Even today, the Wolf cubs still hold a grudge against the Demon Court and the Grey Knights.
Representative figure: Giesnaros, who was cleaved to death by a Wolf cub's axe.
Whenever this Order appears in a GW story, I've rarely seen any of them not get killed by their own people (laughs).
The protagonist is going to see an Inquisitor from a different Order.