Revenant Slaves Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Luna

Read chapter 29 of Revenant Slaves by Zee on NovelPedia.

Chapter 28: Luna As Luna inhaled deeply, she realized she had been holding her breath waiting for Avraham to respond. The rest of the Inquisitors around the table turned to stare at Avraham as well. Luna felt herself sweating as she shared Avraham’s perspective, because under those hard, measuring looks, it felt as though she were being questioned, not Avraham. Even though they weren’t physically in the room together, the air became heavy, and it got harder to breathe. “Will you not respond? Good, at least you have some self-control. I’m sure the Office of Purity will not find much more than gross negligence from you, Avraham. But what can be done? Surely you aren’t to blame for that; you are not gifted. The way some others are, less deservingly so.” “It must be as you say, High Inquisitor Azarea,” Avraham finally spoke. The exchange prompted another chuckle from Razin. Ingram turned his head away in disgust. Azarea, on the other hand, paused and looked towards Avraham with a smile. “Your docility always makes me think we should have allowed more of your ilk into our ranks, because you flameless, if nothing else, know how to obey orders. I do not care who the child is to you or why you saved him, or his mother, for that matter. Well, it presents the perfect opportunity for us; you must recruit your wayward child, Inquisitor Avraham… As for Whiterock’s heir, this is her abominable mother’s doing; that pathetic whelp couldn’t be satisfied in her marriage, and her need to protect her pathetic spawn has landed us in this mess. She disappeared sometime after Inquisitor Avraham departed the planet himself. No matter where she runs off to, she will be found, and the Office of Corrections will handle it from there.” Azarea paused, her hand suddenly shone with a mug, and she drank from it. “The rebellion has done our work for us in propping up this slave boy; it’s time the temple reclaimed him as our own and showed the people how benevolent their Emperor is. It shouldn’t prove too difficult to earn the child’s devotion; these people are hungry for scraps. His mother must be nearing her expiration date; most of these tankbreds live for how long?” “35-40 years, most are transported for the balancing at 35, earlier if they are no longer fit for work.” “Splendid, offer to save her, and he would happily let you leash him.” Azarea seemed satisfied with herself, while Luna felt nothing but revulsion for her. She continued, “Ingram and Razin take out the system's sovereigns. Make the executions public, and raise morale among the lower classes. Wait until their replacements arrive, before you leave, root out the rot of rebellion and dissent. All of you are allotted no more than a five percent death rate per planet, and no more than 30% of which can be slaves. That includes the forces of the rebellion; we should not waste precious lives when they can be fed to the fatality index instead.” Azarea pointed a finger at the fourth Inquisitor present, who had yet to speak. “Inquisitor Adran has recently passed the Red Mandate. He will accompany you as you subjugate the system. I will leave you the ship I have in my command, Adran. As I will indulge the hospitality of Inquisitor Avraham, as we make for Mortrum and its moons directly.” Luna had never heard of the fatality index before; she made a mental note to ask about it later. “Affirmative, High Inquisitor,” Adran replied, curt to the point. “I hope you find my hospitality appropriate, High Inquisitor,” Avraham replied. “Ah, I am excited to meet the first apprentice you have undertaken in your 20 years serving the emperor. Am I correct in assuming they are exactly like you?” Luna was forced to hold her breath again. This person would soon come aboard their ship; would she be able to maintain her facade in front of them when those piercing eyes stared directly into her? “Indeed, it is true. Please have your people contact ours to set up the flight pattern for our ships to align for docking procedures