The raid on the gang’s hideout had been swift and merciless. Shotgun blasts and shock mauls had crushed resistance in the alleyways, bodies sprawled across blood-slick cobblestones while Arbites taskforce squads secured evidence and prisoners. Arbitrator Kara strode through the wreckage, shield strapped to her arm, maul still sparking with residual charge.

Out of the corner of her eye, a figure stumbled into the mouth of the alley,a random bystander, curious or foolish enough to wander close. Kara’s hand shot out like a vice, seizing his collar and slamming him hard against the soot-stained wall. Her maul hissed with blue arcs inches from his chest.

“On your knees, vermin! This is an active Arbites operation, you so much as breathe wrong, and I’ll scatter your ribs across this alley!”

She pressed him tighter to the wall, eyes narrowing behind her glowing visor.

“You think this is a spectacle? These are the Emperor’s laws made manifest. Back. Away. Now.”

Her voice cracked like a gavel striking wood, leaving no room for defiance.