[Encryption active] Today, Rannick suggested I was becoming obsessed with the Karnak Twins. I remarked that it was a requirement for any servant of the Holy Ordos to become obsessed with those they hunt, for that is the only way this work may be accomplished. Some call it obsession, I call it deep engagement. This is our life, this is our purpose. Anything less than total commitment would be dereliction. But the Interrogator intimated that I was too personally engaged.

When I objected to this, he would not be drawn further, and dismissed me. He has no intention of discussing it. I will record my response to his reprimand here, partly to vent my frustration at his glib verdict, but also to answer back. I know, after all, that he reads these journals. If I cannot answer for myself officially, I will answer here.

We know the Archenemy of Man is pernicious and insidious,  and must be fought with every ounce of our will, but the Karnak Twins prove that the most dangerous weapon of Chaos is the turning against us of those who were once our own.

The Karnaks know the hive. They were born there. They know the Astra Militarum, and its functions and strengths, for they were both part of it.  Their grim success is born from those twin pools of knowledge. That is why they require the most serious attention.

Am I obsessed with them, Interrogator? Perhaps I am, and if so… good. I am Tertium too, and an experienced agent of an Imperial institution. But for a quirk of fate, they could be me. I understand how dangerous that is.

And is it personal? Yes. They seem to me like the greatest crime of all, for I can imagine - more than imagine - their mindset. They once had a bond with the hive, as I do, so I personally understand the immense step they must have taken to break that bond and become what they are. I see… I feel… the scale and measure of their treachery and their rebellion. 

I should be the one who hunts them down, for they are like twisted shadows of me.  Do I take it personally, and conduct this hunt with obsession? Yes, and that is how it should be. Only someone who understands them can out-play them. My obsession should not be the subject of rebuke. It should be valued.    [Recording ended]