Sergeant Effried Halkand was posted on Terra after the events on the Daylight Wall. He had abandoned his military affiliations two years ago after being recruited to work for the Ordo Xenos, but the group still insisted on calling him sergeant. The role of militant organiser had fit him well, but coming to Terra just weeks ago was his first real test. It had been a sudden refocusing of efforts the like of which he hadn’t seen. The interrogations had been consuming, and most leads had been burned to a cinder by the sheer intensity of various Ordos struggling for foothold in the research.

Some of the lesser known Ordos had been involved since the start. Nothing was as usual on this case. Effried had never been interested in the power play of inquisitors, but this time it was hard not to miss it. Even securing a temporary office space had taken them days, working from a guarded corner table of a pilgrym tavern in the meantime.

The hordes continued walking by each hour of each day. The section of the anomaly had been shut down, but there was another cathedral to divert the crowds to. He had stopped noticing individuals anymore. The pilgrims had become as a river to him, something to navigate in the vast halls to get his own sacred business done. The whole absurdity of it all had him thinking if the task given by inquisitor [REDACTED] was all that important after all, or where they all just participating in this empty charade in their own way.

But after learning about Lazaros and the infant, all such doubts had vanished.
Sergeant Effried Halkand, Inquisitorial servant, recruited to the Astra Militarum from the Numgaani warrior clans, was now more assured than ever he was doing the Emperor’s work. And he would be leaving Holy Terra tonight.

He signalled to Kolex and Kolix, (a tracker and a gunner) using their own primitive and silent sign language, to set charges. There was no time to clear the temporary workspace. The throne world would have to suffer one more explosion before their departure.