A Day in the Life of an Inquisitor
A slice-of-life story in the 74th century.
Below is Castle Aquila, the abode of House Aquilanus, inside of which lives an Inquisitor named Aeneas Aquilanus. The exploits upon which history remembers him for can be found in another tale. This story is much more… domestic.
It all started in the morning when the Inquisitor woke up from his slumber. He could see the sun shining on his face through the expansive window of his bedroom. Little light came through because of the curtains, but it was enough to let him know that day had arrived.
He sat up to the edge of his bed and ran his hand through his short dark hair. He looked back and saw his wife, Galatea, still fast asleep. It was clear that she was quite the beauty because she still looked good even though her hair was a complete mess. Aeneas grinned as he walked to the curtain-covered window. Then, he quickly split open the curtains, brightening the whole room.
Husband suppressed his laugh as he heard the feminine yelp of his wife.
“L-lord Aeneas!” Galatea cried. Still lying on the bed, she covered her face with her arm. “What is the meaning of this!?”
“Time to wake up,” Aeneas said, smiling.
Slowly, Galatea sat up on her side of the bed. She put her hands through her messy black hair. “You’re lucky I’m not the one making your breakfast.”
***
Aeneas stared in disbelief as he saw his wife gobbling up the toasted bread and apples. It seemed like she could not eat them fast enough, taking each bite before she could fully swallow the previous one. The grape juice certainly helped.
“Calm down, Galatea,” Aeneas said with concern. “At this rate, House Aquilanus will go broke.”
“Sorry, Lord Aeneas,” responded Galatea, still munching her food. “I need to eat for three people, remember?”
It had been a few months since Aeneas found out that his wife was pregnant. Of course, that was to be expected. What was unexpected was the revelation that Galatea was carrying not one child, but two.
“Right,” responded Aeneas. “Still crazy to think that you’re carrying twins.”
“How do you think I feel?” asked Galatea. She swallowed the food in her mouth. “I’m the one carrying them. And besides, twins don’t run in the La Mancha family. This one’s on you, Lord Aeneas.”
“Now that you mention it…”
But Aeneas would not be able to finish his sentence as he was interrupted by the appearance of a blue hologram in the middle on the table. It showed the form of a young child of about seven years old. This was Fyuria, the daughter of Aeneas and Galatea. Given that Fyuria was a machine spirit, it should go without saying that she was adopted.
“Papa! Mama!” Fyuria greeted. “Did you enjoy the breakfast?”
“Your mother certainly did,” Aeneas quipped. For that one-liner, the Inquisitor had earned for himself a venomous glare from his wife.
Fyuria giggled. “Glad you liked it. I made sure to toast every bit of the bread to the optimal degree. I also scanned through the fruits to make sure they’re all fresh.”
And the family continued to eat their breakfast. For his part, Aeneas felt a strange combination of amazement and indigestion. Galatea was a petite woman, and the Inquisitor still could not get used to being outeaten by his little wife.
***
Now energized for the day ahead, Aeneas dressed himself into his proper attire. As an Inquisitor, he needed to be ready for action. A sword was sheathed on his left side while a pistol was holstered on his right. On his left wrist was his nav-comm, the device that would allow him to communicate with others over a long distance, certainly more convenient than the standard brick.
The Inquisitor also had his energy shield generator on his chest hidden under his shirt, not something that he would normally wear but today he had been called by the Nepolian Congress to attend the next hearing. Aeneas did not look forward to this. Indeed, he was expecting the whole thing to be boring. But such was his duty – as the Fief Holder of Prochyta, he was also a member of the Nepolian Congress.
Aeneas considered skipping the whole thing. But he knew full well Rule VII of the Inquisitor’s Code: The Inquisitor shall perform scrupulously his state duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
Unfortunately for Aeneas, attending boring meetings and rubbing shoulders with politicians were not contrary to the laws of God. Not in the 74th century.
Before he could leave, the Inquisitor said his goodbyes to his wife. He kissed Galatea lightly while rubbing her bulging belly.
“Good luck out there,” Galatea said tenderly.
“Don’t overextend yourself,” Aeneas replied.
With everything in the castle taken care of, Aeneas was ready to leave for Nepoli City. The northern part of the Castle Aquila complex was the location of Castle Aquila’s shuttle pad. That was where he was to take a shuttle that would take him over the body of water known as the Nepolian Channel and into the towering hive city which served as the namesake of the Republic.
It was a quick walk to the shuttle pad. Just as Aeneas was a few steps away from the shuttle itself, he heard a loud swooshing noise. The force of the wind was such that he could feel himself being blown back. A silver wyvern, about the size of a small tank, flew in front of him.
“Sancho Panza!” Aeneas cried.
The gargantuan wyvern licked his master and then rubbed his head on the Inquisitor’s chest. In return, Aeneas petted the serpentine creature.
“I miss you too, buddy,” the Inquisitor said affectionately. “I’ll be counting on you to protect this house. And Galatea of course.”
Sancho Panza made a soft noise with his nostrils, indicating acknowledgement.
It was at this point when a feminine voice cried out. “What about me, papa?”
Aeneas knew exactly whose voice that was, and where it came from. The Inquisitor turned on his nav-comm to reveal the holographic figure of Fyuria. “Hey!” he cried, “get out of there!”
“I will, I will,” Fyuria said defensively. “I just want to see you off, papa.”
Aeneas shook his head but smiled. “I understand. I’ll be counting on you to keep your mother safe.”
“Worry not!” Fyuria saluted her father. “With Sancho Panza patrolling the outside and me keeping track of the security cameras, mama and the castle are safe! If needs be, I’ll activate the robots.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Afterwards, Aeneas said his goodbyes to both Fyuria and Sancho Panza and then set off on his journey towards Nepoli City. It was a quick flight to the sprawling hive city which contained the vast majority of the republic’s population.
Aeneas’ shuttle flew way over the blue waters of the Nepolian Channel. In its flight, it was gaining altitude until it reached the upper levels of the hive city. It was not quite at the top levels of the hive city where the nobles’ estates were located, but rather the middle levels, where much of the wealthy commoners live.
Here, the shuttle entered into a large opening within a skyscraper located on this level of the hive city and made its landing. The skyscraper was part of a building complex known as the Nepoli City Sky Port, where thousands of airships flew in and out daily like bees with their hives. As the Fief Holder of Procyhta, his shuttle had been given a special place to land. Even so, Aeneas could see the crowds of airships and other flying aircrafts both in the air and on the ground as he walked out of his own shuttle.
The Inquisitor would have some time to relax before he would go straight to the Nepolian Congress, which thankfully was located close to the Sky Port. And he did. But while he was enjoying his drink, he heard a sky port announcement:
“Good morning from the Metropolitan Nepoli Transportations Authority. We have just received a warning from the Nepolian Republican Police, an escaped convict had been reported to be around the Sky Port District. A greenskin male of about seven Imperial feet. Suspect is armed and dangerous. If seen, do not approach. Report immediately. Thank you.”
By instinct, Aeneas held on to the sword sheathed on his side. He briefly considered apprehending the escapee himself, but he thought better of it. The police would take care of that. As for him, he needed to make his way to the Congress.
***
The Nepolian Congressional Building had a distinctive look to it compared to the other buildings around it. Like many structures in Nepoli City, it was domed, but rather than a single dome, it was about three different domes at the top merged into one building. And for reasons both insane and artistic, those domes made up the ground floor.
It was iconic if nothing else. But for his part, Aeneas thought the whole thing to be an eyesore, a sentiment that was shared by many of his countrymen. He always preferred the Senate Building, which was nowhere near as tacky.
Such was the nature of new structures in the 74th century as the Nepolian Congressional Building was completed not too long ago, just a month after the conclusion of the Grey Globe Crisis.
Little did Aeneas know that the architecture of the Congress was a sign of things to come for his experience inside this august building.
The main interior of the Nepolian Congress was tiered, it was here where each member took his seat (and it was almost always a he since it was a bad look for a noble house or polity to send a woman as a representative). The seats themselves were arranged in a circle, surrounding a line of seats at the center. There, the Speaker of the Congress was to take his seat, right in front of where any possible representative might speak. Aeneas was given a seat at the higher levels. It was meant to be a seat of honor, but the Inquisitor was just glad that he was able to sit somewhere where no one would notice should he fall asleep.
And that was what happened.
It is important to know that Aeneas was a man of letters; he was not one to get bored by words. But then, a congressman, a braggart named Alberto, thought he was clever in filibustering an infrastructure bill meant for a region of the undercities.
In all fairness, Alberto’s objection to the bill and his decision to filibuster was actually reasonable. But Aeneas did not know that, since he hadn’t studied the issue, so it was all gibberish to him. The Inquisitor cursed his ignorance. He knew that this was something he would have studied, should have studied, beforehand. But the demands of family life, of a pregnant wife, a daughter, and the estate at large, had gotten in the way. If he knew anything about this issue, he could have intervened and put an end to this nonsense. Instead, the Inquisitor was doomed to suffer in silence while Alberto was prolonging the filibuster by reading aloud an old technical manual about shuttle maintenance.
And he went on. And on… and on… and on…
***
Aeneas was struggling to figure out what had just transpired. A towering orc was standing where Alberto the representative had been doing his political antics. The greenskin was carrying a sword. More alarming was Alberto on the ground, lying on a pool of his own blood.
And the orc spoke in its accent, “Nou-body move! I wan’na to talk to da Presidente of this country.”
Holding to his sword, the Inquisitor waited for his opportunity. He could see all the politicians around cowering in fear. As it turned out, the orc was not alone, he also had other greenskins with him. Surely some sort of a gang. How did they even make their way to the Congress? What could they possibly want? But Aeneas did not dwell on these questions.
Especially when one of them yelled at Aeneas, pointing a gun at him: “You! Wha’chu been doin’? Wait a sec, yuu have weapon!”
Aeneas moved quickly, not quick enough to avoid gunfire, but his energy shield absorbed the shots. He then took out his pistol and fired back. The greenskin was buffeted, showing that at least he did not have an energy shield with him. The Inquisitor knew that this was his opportunity. He fired more rounds with his pistol, sending the orc backwards. Rushing forward, the Inquisitor used his sword to impale the greenskin.
Without hesitation, the Inquisitor then jumped down to the center of the Congress, right where Alberto’s body was. Or at least, it should be there but for some reason it wasn’t anymore. Confusing, but the Inquisitor had his priorities.
Aeneas pointed his sword at the greenskin.
But far from intimidated, the orc grinned, showing his fangs. “I wouldn’t do that if I were ye.”
And what the greenskin brought forward chilled the Inquisitor to his bones. It was his wife, Galatea, held against her will.
“Lord Aeneas!”
“No! Galatea!”
The ruffian laughed maniacally, then put his own sword on the pregnant woman’s neck. “Now what will ya do, Lord Inquisitor?”
Aeneas seethed. Much as he wanted to attack, he couldn’t. Not with his wife and unborn children at risk. The Inquisitor frantically ran through his mind trying to figure out a way to save his family. But his thoughts were interrupted when the orc suddenly screamed in pain and fell on his knees.
As it turned out, the greenskin had been shot from the back. The culprit was a humanoid robot. In a fit of anger, the orc swung his sword wildly at the mechanical contraption. This chaos allowed Galatea to flee her captor and towards Aeneas, who was making his way towards her.
The Inquisitor gratefully took his wife in a hug. The two kissed. Perhaps not the best thing to do given the situation, but Aeneas was just glad to see his wife safe.
“I knew you’d save me, Lord Aeneas,” said Galatea.
“You did?”
But before Galatea could respond, there was a loud noise of metal. The greenskin had finally succeeded in destroying the robot. And suddenly, Aeneas’ nav-comm activated, showing Fyuria.
“Fyuria?” Aeneas asked in confusion. “What’s going on here?”
“I was the one in that robot, papa,” the machine spirit explained.
That explained some things, but not others. Before Aeneas could think on the whole situation, the greenskin gang leader and his goons surrounded him and his wife.
In truth, Aeneas thought he was out of luck. There was no way he was going to get out of this situation.
Or was there?
A crash was heard from the ceiling of the Congressional building as the mighty Sancho Panza flew through the sunlight-filled hole. Aeneas could hardly believe himself. Did his wyvern really fly all the way from Castle Aquila to here?
Aeneas was not going to question the gift he had received as the silver wyvern raged through the orcs, smacking some around with his wings and burning the others with fire breath. Now, Aeneas knew what needed to be done. With his wife taking refuge behind him, he took out his sword once more and faced this gang leader, this escaped convict.
First things first, Aeneas gave Galatea his pistol. The Inquisitor knew that once he engaged his enemy in a duel, he could no longer protect his wife. Sancho Panza and perhaps Fyuria could do that in his stead, but he did not want to take anything for granted.
With everything taken care of, Aeneas approached his enemy like a hunter approaching a powerful prey. The Inquisitor knew a straight-up charge would be suicide since the greenskin had the strength advantage.
Aeneas was an experienced fighter. And he had dueled an orc before, one larger than this one, and won. The Inquisitor knew that patience was the key to victory, especially since it was something that his opponent lacked.
As it turned out, the orc was still in a state of rage. Like before with Fyuria, he attacked wildly with his sword. But it was a swing and a miss, leaving a fatal opening. Aeneas saw his opportunity and struck his opponent’s neck, decapitating the convict.
The headless green body fell down. And yet, there was no blood. Aeneas knew something was off. But once again his thoughts were interrupted. This time by his wife who rushed out to him while crying out his name. Aeneas opened his arms and once more the two embraced.
“Thank you, Lord Aeneas.” Galatea flashed him a sweet smile. “I am blessed to have you as my husband. But now, I want you to wake up…”
***
“Wake up, Lord Inquisitor!”
Aeneas looked up groggily and saw the face of a representative, his white hair and wrinkles betrayed his age. The Inquisitor wondered if he was in trouble, for this was Representative Vittorio Panini of Benevento, the current Speaker of the Congress.
“What’s going on?” asked Aeneas.
“You’ve slept through the whole filibuster.”
“You mean it’s over?”
Vittorio gave Aeneas a look of annoyance. “Alberto’s party finally withdrew his filibuster after some negotiation. I’ll spare you the details. Clearly, you are not interested. Also, there was an announcement from the Republican Police about an escaped convict they apprehended just outside of the Senate Building, a greenskin. That really scared us up. But enough about that! I must say that it’s not a good look for the Patriarch of House Aquilanus to sleep through a Congressional session like that.”
“My apologies,” Aeneas said sheepishly. “In my defense though, it’s also not a good look for you politicians to pull a stunt like that on the one day that I attend.”
The representative put his finger up in a chastising manner. “Your late father had more patience for political maneuvering. You may have commanded the Holy League forces to defeat the Grey Globe, but you still have much to learn, young Aeneas.”
Aeneas frowned, having easily sensed the patronizing tone behind his interlocutor’s words. But he let that go, for he knew that the old man was right. He just had to take his punches.
The politician and the Inquisitor then said their goodbyes. For his part, Aeneas was glad to be done with his Congressional duty. As he stepped outside of the Congressional chamber, he activated his nav-comm to call his wife.
“Lord Aeneas,” Galatea greeted. “How was the meeting?”
“It was….” Aeneas paused. “Pretty exciting, all things considered. I’ll tell you about it when I’m home.”
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