The Adeptus Arbites in the Prosperitas Sector

See Also:

• Notable leaders of the Adeptus Arbites Prosperitas

The Adeptus Arbites are the Imperial law enforcement and judiciary. Oath-sworn to uphold Imperial Law above all else, they pursue, judge and summarily prosecute the most serious criminals, answering to neither Planetary Governor nor noble House in their pursuit of the Emperor’s Justice.

Five Things To Know About the Adeptus Arbites

• They are the force of Law in the Imperium of Humanity. They enforce the law and act as judge, jury and executioner; citizens of the Imperium have no rights before their powers.

• They deal with major crimes. The vast majority of minor crimes, including most murders, are dealt with by local planetary Enforcers. The Arbites concern themselves with serious breakdowns in order and breaches of Imperial law where the local security forces have proved ineffective.

• They are not military. Although they have a hierarchical rank structure and often use similar equipment to the Imperial Guard, they do not fall under Crusade command. Any Arbiter is expected to be capable of acting alone and without the support of their hierarchy.

• They enforce Imperial law. The Arbites enforce the Lex Imperialis, which overrules all planetary and Sector laws.

• They oversee Governors and nobles. Rank and temporal power are no bar to the duties of an Arbiter. The Adeptus Arbites can arrest a Planetary Governor who fails to pay their Imperial Tithe or a noble of a major House accused of a serious crime.

For a more general overview, you can go here for further details on Imperial law and order.

The Adeptus Arbites in the Prosperitas Sector

The first Adeptus Arbites arrived with Durovera’s Crusade, establishing the Sector’s Grand Hall of Judgement in the newly-named capital Duroverum. By ancient tradition, the High Chief Justice of the Sector has their Fortress-Precinct overlooking the Governor’s Palace – a symbolic overwatch, as the centuries of growth have seen outcroppings of the Hive sprout and shift until the original architecture is barely recognisable, but an important symbol: it is the iron-willed and carapace-armoured Arbitrators who watch the watchers.

Faced with dozens of worlds which provide fertile soil for crime, recidivism and heresy to take root, it is an open secret that the Adeptus Arbites of the Sector are stretched beyond their capabilities. Forced to turn a blind eye to increasingly major and organised criminal enterprises, and continually raising the threshold for “local law enforcement business”, the last four High Chief Justices have reportedly petitioned Terra for additional reinforcement – with minimal results.

Despite highly publicised successes in defeating a series of criminal gangs on Hive-Worlds across the sector in the last two decades, the whispers at the highest levels are that the Arbites are failing at one of their most vital duties – cutting out the rot of rebellion and recidivism before it spreads and becomes a problem for the Inquisition or the Crusade itself.

At the Trooper level, morale seems high; the Adeptus are well-led, well-funded when compared to their planetary Enforcer counterparts, and have favour from the highest levels of the Noble Houses – nobody wants to be in a Marshal’s bad books. The upper echelons, however, eye the wild corners of Subsectors Secundus and Tertius with a nervous gaze, painfully aware how thinly their precinct-houses are spread and how few their forces are for the task that faces them.

The Vox and Virellian protocols - Recent Arbites Activity

Following the ascension of Marshall-Protector Drusilla Vox under the previous Warmaster and Sector Governor, Armelius Durovera, the Arbites have become rapidly split between those like Vox who advocate for traditional authoritarian approaches to law enforcement in the sector, ruling by fear and the iron glove, the so called 'terror tactics' used to suppress populations in wayward or rebellious regions of space and considered heavy-handed by some.

But there are Arbiters, such as Arbiter Teneros Virellian who have advocated for a softer approach towards enforcement advocating a gentle corrective hand that guides the sector towards stability out of fear that the so-called 'Vox protocol' will fragment the sector by squeezing too tight. This is the so-called Virellian protocol that defies the Marshall-Protectors orders.

Whilst Marshalls across the Sector are now broadly aware of the style of policing the Virellian protocol advocates, few have put it into effect. Some fear an uptick in the work of the likes of the Rising Flame and other ne’er-do-wells who thrive when the authorities choose to limit themselves to such methods as requiring evidence prior to arrest or conviction. More, however, fear Vox, who has been known to make examples of those who would challenge the primacy of her protocols.

Marshall-Protector Vox forbids Arbites of the Prosperitas Sector from following the Virellian Protocol. Its spread through the Arbitrators of the Sector is likely to halt unless Arbitrators are specifically encouraged into taking that crucial jump into defying the Marshall-Protector’s orders. With each Arbites Fortress-Precinct having a mix of Vox loyalists and those who look on the Virellian protocol as best practice this could before long begin to fragment the Arbites.

Rank and Status in the Adeptus Arbites

Any Adeptus Arbites can correctly be addressed as “Arbiter” or “Arbitrator”. Exact designations of rank and status within the Adeptus can vary between different jurisdictions and Precinct-Fortresses, and it is not uncommon for a particular rank or title to be awarded for the duration of a criminal investigation, to represent the greater autonomy granted to the lead investigative officer. The titles below are the most commonly understood by the Arbites of the Prosperitas Sector.

Even the lowest Arbitrator Minoris is granted an unimaginable level of autonomy by comparison to the ranks of planetary Enforcers, who must answer to byzantine and often corrupt local justice systems. Any Arbiter who wears the badge is entitled by office to carry out summary justice, including execution, upon any wrongdoers they judge guilty of breaching the Lex. Only in the most complex, difficult or politically sensitive cases will an alleged criminal be brought back to the Precinct-Fortress for further investigation and trial before a more senior Arbitrator – whose word will be final.

• Arbitrator Minoris: The lowest rank of Arbiter, one who has successfully completed their training and is considered capable of enacting the judgement of the Lex on wrongdoers.

• Arbitrator Majoris: An Arbiter entrusted with command, often found in command of a riot control squad or leading an investigation.

• Arbitrator Senioris: A senior Arbiter who can be trusted to act alone on sensitive or dangerous cases, or coordinate several squads of Arbiters to deal with major civil unrest.

• Marshal: A Planetary Overprecinct is headed by the planet’s Marshal, responsible for overseeing law and commanding the Arbitrators of the Planet’s Fortress-Precincts. They are assisted by at least one, and often several, Deputy-Marshals. More populous planets will be divided into several regional precincts.

• Nomad Marshals: Also called “Frontier” or “Hunter” Marshals, these Marshals have no fixed Precinct and report directly to the High-Marshal Subsector. They are responsible for bringing the Law to wild frontier worlds with no formal Precinct and the distant reaches of the Sector, hunting down fleeing criminals who cross Overprecinct boundaries and overseeing complex investigations into criminal conspiracies spanning several planets.

• High-Marshal: Usually addressed as Lord-, Lady- or High-Marshal, are responsible for overseeing Overprecincts containing multiple worlds. Usually these positions of High Status are retirement positions, where venerable and politically powerful Arbitrators can be kept busy with the workings of politics and logistics rather than maintaining an active presence on a planet.