"<strong>So, Richter, what happened here?</strong>"<br/><br/>It wasn't the chief arbitrator that asked the tall man that, but rather the tall man himself. He was a bit of a peculiar breed for this Hive. He had just turned up one day and behaved as if he had lived there his whole life. All the higher ups did as well, and even some of the big scum of the underbelly suddenly cursed his name as if he had thwarted their plans many a time. But the chief arbitrator knew damn well that there had never been a Richter on his payroll. He was were very particular about keeping an eye on every bit of paper work that got  through his offices and even thoughha was sure he had never heard the name before, Richter's name had appeared a little bit of everywhere a few years ago when he showed up. As if he had been there all along.<br/><br/>"<strong>You say that Mr Skagwart was responsible for this?</strong>"<br/><br/>The chief turned to Richter, who was knelt know over the body of a stocky built brute of a man that used to have no holes in his stomach. Now he had been stabbed 54 times with a knife belonging to Hiriam Skagwart. Hiriam himself was already arrested and being "processed" back at the precinct. Richter was tracing the network scars on his face while mumbling to himself, something he usually did when he was in deep thought.<br/><br/>"That's right, Richter. Case closed. He owed Crumbly there a whole lot of thrones." While Richter was only a trooper, he had a knack for noticing details and the Governor really enjoyed hearing about his table-turns on cases that seemed obvious. Didn't help that this hive was probably the smallest one in the Imperium. Rumors spread like lightning and the civvies were already crowding around the crime scene behind a lousy bar that the perpetrator and victim had frequented. Everyone, including the chief, gasped as Richter suddenly showed his right hand into the groin of the corpse and groped around. "That is hardly appropriate, Richter, you are going out of line..."<br/><br/>"<strong>You can release Mr Skagwart.</strong>" Richter said as he stood up, pulling up a handkerchief to clean the blood of his hand. "<strong>He has a wife and a teen daughter, no? Go home to them and check if they have any bruises in the face, black eye probably. That's your perp.</strong>"<br/><br/>The chief pulled a sneer and took the trooper by his collar and stared him down. "The heck do you mean with that, Richter?"<br/><br/>Richter's smile was a bit crooked, mostly because of one of his scars running over one side of his lip. "<strong>Skagswort is an underhiver with a knife. He knows how to use it, knows where to stick it. Also he's about as tall as me, although a bit scrawnier. I don't think he would go for the stomach when he can reach the neck. Also, because of all the blood from the belly you might not have noticed, but the gentleman's genitals has been cut off. Something tells me that this is the work of a woman wronged rather than a desperate man in debt and his wife and daughter has easy access to his knives.</strong>" He brushed the chief's hand away from his collar and walked of, arrogant as ever. Cursing under his breath the chief hailed the precinct on his microbead. Somehow he knew Richter would be right. The slimy prick always was.<br/><br/>Forcing his way through the crowd, Richter felt something vibrate in his pocket. He could already guess as to what it was. It was trouble brewing, steadily growing into a crescendo of anxiety and life preservation. Just ignore it. Just ignore it.<br/><br/>"<strong>Well, Richter, seems like we are needed again...</strong>"<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The Naval Officers' meeting room was both a pleasant and unpleasant change to the environments Richter had been introduced to in his experiences with space travel. For one it was a perfectly clean area, as well lit as an Imperial official's room could get and hopefully a place where he would get some answers. On the other hand though, it was full of strangers, prissy officers and nobles (probably both) and certainly a place where he would get some answers... that he most likely wouldn't enjoy all that much. He looked around at the others in the room as soon as the doors opened with an ill-boding hiss and his eyes were immediately drawn towards the Ogryn. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of such a properly formal abhuman. Only a Ratling in an Inquisitor's robes would have been more enjoyable, and at the same time all the more frighting. He tore his eyes away quickly as to not upset the very fancy abhuman and focused on the cleric and first mate, who were as it were, the highest authority. He gave them a smile and nod before remembering to give off a salute. A rather strict one, given his penchant for being anything but proper in association to anything official and formal.<br/><br/>"<strong>Trooper Richter, sirs, Adeptus Arbites. At your service!</strong>"<br/><br/>Seeing as almost everyone seemed to stand, he just stepped in and took a place among the others. He straightened out his Arbites uniform, which was a bit worn in the edges, then forced his unruly hair into a more not bedraggled shape before he stole a glance at what he assumed were the other... tools of Celia's or Cordelia's trade. A large soldier type guy, smoking lhos, probably from a rather nasty place judging from his stone face and piercing eyes. Priority one to get along with, he would probably be the best guy to be watching your back. Unless he was some sort of penal psycho, in which case Richter would rather have his back where he could see it. Next were a smooth-skinned man who had most definitely lived a proper life of the imperial nobility. One could see it in how he moved and hear it in how he talked, seated comfortably while the servants stood. Richter had nothing against the nobles. They paid his wages and when you got comfortable with them you really got comfortable. Last, but not the least, was what should have been an Omnissiah-botherer. He wasn't sure though, since he could actually determine the gender of this one. She wore the robes, but otherwise she seemed a bit too human for one of the techies. A pleasant surprise though, as well as pleasant on the eye. He accidentally gave her a bright smile before he remembered that he was here for a purpose. A very serious purpose.<br/><br/>"<strong>Well Richter</strong>" he said under his breath, barely audible to the others "<strong>this just went an interesting route.</strong>" before he turned his full attention to the First Mate.