[bluntpencil]

For some reason, last year, the Inquisition wanted to provide the Adeptus Arbites with a helping hand, with its propaganda machine. Adept Scipio Julius of the Hive Sibellus Broadcasting Unit was assigned to one Arbitrator Gethsemane on a routine operation...

The pict-recorder looks at the floor, steel, of course. Armoured boots, various sizes, uniform gunmetal toecaps and black colouration. They don't move. The camera jolts a little, giving an impression of motion.

It pans up. Yes, they're moving, and in some sort of vehicle. It pans around. Yes, a Rhino, in the common parlance. A group of heavily armed and armoured individuals sit, ramrod straight, as the personnel carrier moves around. The viewer can, of course, hear the armoured treads of their conveyance moving, and at some speed. That probably indicates that there is some sort of emergency. That and the gunfire.

The reporter, next to the pict-recorder operator, looks terrified. His face blanches as something explodes outside.

The lead Arbitrator, his name-badge saying 'Gethsemane' speaks up in a voice that sounds like it's trying (and failing) to be emotionless. Its emotions seem to be a mixture of boredom and anger. He seems to be rhyming off things the others already know. Was this standard procedure, to make sure there were no mistakes, or was it for the benefit of the recording?

"Guilty parties have gathered unlawfully in the central plaza.

Known crimes are as follows: Unlawful association, Sedition and Rioting. The sentence can vary from violent dispersal to a twenty year incarceration with the associated indentured servitude.

Suspected crimes are as follows: Illicit Occult Activity, Association with Wanted Occultists and Treason. Should these crimes not promptly be proven false, the sentence is, of cou-"

As the Rhino appears to slow to a stop, the distinctive ping of bullets ricocheting off its armoured hull can be easily heard, causing Arbitrator Gethsemane to pause, and raise a finger to indicate a change of plan.

"Re-evaluation: Guilty parties' known crimes now include Assault on the Adeptus Arbites. Suspected crimes now include Attempted Murder of Adeptus Arbites. The sentence is, of course, death.

Use lethal force."

He looks down at the floor for a moment. His lips move, but the words are inaudible. It looks like he's... offering a prayer? It's hard to tell, as the camera is jolted a little as he does so.

And with that, the Arbitrators ritually rack the slides on their heavy shotguns, the loud noise sounding like a drumbeat. The reporter swallows and attempts to look enthusiastic. He looks down at his brightly coloured flak armour, then looks at the grim carapace worn by the men and women of the law. He obviously thinks his orange jacket makes him look a target now. Hell.

The exits slide open, revealing dazzling daylight and smoke, a change from the dim red lights of before. Such bright daylight was odd in Sibellus: It is one of the biggest Hives in the Calixis Sector, after all. Still, they were on the outside of the Hive, so it happened sometimes, if the winds were strong enough to blow away the smog.

The Arbitrators storm out, nervously followed by the news team. Gunfire and the crack of las-fire can be heard, until a very obvious censor cuts out all sound from the video when chanting can be heard from the rioters.

Various flashes. The Arbitrators continue on, unshaken, the rebels and rioters clutching at their blinded eyes as they are gunned down mercilessly.

One man lies on the ground, apparently screaming, his leg torn apart by a shell. A Judge pumps another cartridge into the chamber of her shotgun, ready to end him at point-blank range.

The sound comes back on. Yes, screaming.

Arbitrator Gethsemane puts a hand on the Judge's shoulder, and shakes his head at her.

"Unnecessary ammunition expenditure."

He then stamps his boot onto the head of the injured man, crushing his skull like a grapefruit. It is hard to tell if there is a weapon near him.

It's a massacre, of course. There's no way the Adeptus Arbites would release a video showing anything else. Of course, it shows legions of soldiers at the end, and happy citizens thanking the Judges for their courage, but that could have been on a different planet for all that the viewer can tell.

Funnily enough, the video never actually got broadcast to the general public. The reporter and the cameraman were both recruited by the Inquisition on grounds of 'bearing witness to the profane and responding appropriately'.