Columbia Sector Deep Space
Mulciber Installation


In the vast space of the galaxy, only a tiny fraction of a percent was home to a star system and even fewer home to a planetary system. The rest was nothingness, empty space for countless light-years. An entire fleet of warships could jump to deep space and never be found. Naturally, this infinite volume of space is perfectly ideal for keeping things out of the galactic limelight, perfect for even massive political organizations such as the Galactic Empire.

Karl Valten, Inquisitor of the Empire, stood adamantly at the center of his spectre-class corvette’s, the Necromancer, control room. Only the ring of holo-displays in front of the Inquisitor cast any light, wreathing the circular room in shadows. Behind the granite figure of Valten lay the ship’s six deck officers, each one comatose and strapped to a spartan reclining seat of the type that were typically found in a decent medical clinic. A short cable connected each of them to the softly whirring station arrays making up the rear half of the chamber via a socket at the base of their skulls.

Neural Interfacing with machines was common within the upper ranks of the Inquisitoriate, but interfacing for ship crews was new. The equipment need cost a hideous amount credits so was only found on select ships; and even the advantages of controlling a ship with a neural network, many officers refused to use the technology. For the human mind to operate at a level it was not meant for such extended periods of time tended to erase large portions of memory and personality.

“Mulciber is transmitting, Inquisitor. Rerouting communicae to Screen C now.”

The disembodied voice of the Necromancer’s communication’s officer sounded behind Valten from a speaker grill built into the seat of one of the prone figures.

In a flash, a holographic rendition sprang up in midair on a dormant section in front Valten. A haggard looking man with graying hair frantically spurted out before the image had completely manifested. “I…Inquisitor forgive me, we weren’t expecting you. We’re not due for inspection for another three weeks. If you’d have notified us I could have put together a suitable recep…..”

Karl raised a hand silencing him. The poor man’s agitation and state of dress showed how unprepared the crew of the complex was. The senior engineer’s normally immaculate hair was in disarray and he sported a creased red on gray uniform, tunic not even tucked in, jackboots unpolished and rank bar crooked. Valten could see the frenzy of workers scrambling to greet the Inquisitorial visiting party in his mind. Fortunately for the engineers, Valten wasn’t one to demand visual perfection of his underlings. His experiences the erratic nature of the Nightmares taught him to ignore most of these superficial intricacies.

“Calm down Erik, things have changed. Tell Isabella to get the Purifier prepared for launch. Meet me on the landing dock.”

Erik visibly started fidgeting at the mention of the Purifier. “But Inquisitor, even with how intact she was when the navy donated her, we’re not close to finishing. Only the most rudimentary defenses are installed, we haven’t even tested the engines, and….”

The engineer’s figure vanished as Karl cut off the communications, Erik also complained about never having enough time to work on his pet project but Karl didn’t have time for any whining this time. Since the death of the Emperor, the Inquisitoriate had been struggling to keep the stability of the Empire intact. But their resources where only so limited didn’t have the manpower or mobility to force everyone back in line.

On another holo-screen Mulciber Installation gradually increased in size, giving way to what had to be one of the ugliest looking stations in the galaxy. The main frame of Mulciber was made of the three thousand kilometer wide ring of an old Trade-Federation LH-3210 freighter. Arcing out from the mottled green-gray ring were many makeshift umbilical tubes, cranes, tractor arms, and various habitation and research pods. Many of the formidable gun-turrets had been removed and in their stead, armored power-conduits connected to a series of constructions slips staged at several height intervals. The most imposing feature stood at the center of the ring. Instead of the normal command sphere lay a massive platform studded with hundreds of armatures and wielding turrets— a heavily modified mobile repair station.

But latched to the station was a bizarre ship. She had the typical black painted hull with red chevrons of Inquisitorial ships, but her design wasn’t what would typically found within the Imperial Navy. A massive pyramidal structure sat upon several “shelves” that made up the central body. Clustered around the main pyramid where numerous smaller ones with the engines built into the rear of the main hub. Arcing out from the lowest shelf is a pair of sweeping, scythe-like “wings” five hundred and twenty meters in diameter. The surface is laced with valleys and armored conduits in an almost runic display and extending from the bottom are several skyscraper-like constructs as well another pyramidal growth.

What ships the Inquisitoriate did have we usually “gifts” from the Imperial Navy, usually ships that were either obsolete or otherwise useless. The ships would be repaired and heavily modified at the scattered Inquisitorial installations. The Inquisitoriate had always been reliant on the Navy in this way, but with the Emperor dead and the Empire at its weakened state, Karl was determined to mold a fleet for the Inquisitoriate. The Purifier would be the flagship of the Black Fleet and mark the Inquisition’s break from its reliance on the Navy. Especially with Inquisitor Valten’s finding of the late Emperor’s hidden shipyards.