5th day after Landing Day

From the hand of Arch Inquisitor Majoris Raphael Melchizedekto the Honorable Hospitality Officer Arch Inquisitor Supreme Maleficos Dunbarre:

As an addendum to my previous report, a vulpine miscreant reputed to be anExile was brought to my office, in the company of a Solu by the name ofCrista.

(Due to an uncharacteristic lapse in communication and anunfortunate oversight on my part, for which I most humbly apologize, I donot presently have any further information on the Solu, her whereabouts, orthe nature of events which brought her into contact with the supposed'Exile'. I intend to rectify that situation as soon as she is located. Ishould note that she was cooperative, especially in bringing the 'Exile' inthe first place, so I do not expect that force shall be required.)

As for the subject, for the time being I refer to him as "Cylan Redtail",the name he has given (which I strongly suspect to be an alias made up onthe spot) after much trouble. He was troublesome from the start. Attachedis the medical report on the injuries sustained in the process of subduinghim without killing him. I regret the unplanned breakage of both of hislegs and three of his ribs, but it was unavoidable in light of thecircumstances.

I should note that the subject, in addition to being generally surly,sneaky (attempting a facade that the Machine had not worked that he couldnot understand us), insulting, and downright unpleasant, displayedexceptional resilience, agility, and is nigh-impervious to pain by allindications.

Indeed, it would appear that the use of physical coercion is of little use,but rather that only threat of abject humiliation has any noticeable effect – though not a distinctly useful one. The threat that ultimately promptedany sign of progress was my notion of shaving the scoundrel bald – an ideaprompted by the discovery of an obsidian dagger that was cleverly hiddenwithin his chestfur. I figured that there might be a garotte or othertools hidden elsewhere. Subaltern Fiji seemed to approve of the ideaenthusiastically.

At last, Redtail relented at the threat of the shears, once down in theEconomy Guest Suites, and I was summoned to listen while he spent severallong moments concocting absurd stories to answer my fairly simple questionsregarding his name, where he came from, and the usual. I did not get veryfar, as it was painfully evident that he was in no way repentant, andmerely anxious to avoid a shave.

In any case, based upon his braggart behavior and his frequent threats, Ihave mulled over the notion that he may either exhibit suicidal tendencies,or perhaps is so insecure as to be throwing up a facade of machismo.Surely it cannot be great cunning to try to convince me that he is a threatto my life and limb, when it should be evident that if I actuallyconsidered him such a threat, treating him as such would not entail hisrelease.

On the one hand, shaving him bald might force him to entertain notions ofhumility. On the other, his psyche might be so fragile that he would bereduced to a quivering, snivelling heap that would yield no informationwhatsoever. I compromised by allowing Fiji to shave off a bit of furaround his wrist (with admonitions to go no further than that), but it doesoccur to me that this may be a moot point.

After all, with two broken legs, three fractured ribs, and the likelihoodthat at any given opportunity he will try to cause harm to those around himand perhaps invite further damage to his person, it would appear that largeareas of his body are going to have to be shaved regardless in order to fithim with casts for his lower body and torso. If that is too much for hispsyche, then it is unfortunate and unavoidable.

In the meantime, I shall have to see that he is questioned regarding hisdietary needs, and there will have to be a medical examination to see whatsubstances might be harmful to his person (such as the noted unpleasanteffects of chocolate on some dietary tracts). I shall see to it that noone who was present during his initial questioning will be there for thesequestions, in the hopes that he might be a little more cooperative with achange of company. If not, then he only does himself harm. I shall becurious to compare the answers he gives the medical examiners with thosefindings they make on their own, to see whether he is simply a compulsiveliar, an idiot, or whether he is genuinely concealing something ofimportance.

In light of the injuries suffered by Subaltern Fiji, I will not object ifhe requests to be present while the subject is shaved for fitting of thecasts.

Also, in light of the patient's amazing resilience and criminal tendencies,I do not plan on releasing him any time soon, and shall have to keep himwatched for the time being. Somehow even with two broken legs and thebroken ribs, I have a suspicion that an escape attempt is not out of thequestion, and I would rather see it prevented than to have him killed by anoverzealous guard in the attempt.

I shall keep you posted on any additional findings, particularly after theSolu is found and questioned. Also, some of the objects in his possessionappear to be consistent with gifts visited upon guests by those in acertain region from which I have heard rumors of a vulpine assassinmatching the subject's description. (Finding a stone dagger on him drawscomparisons to the bone dagger used by the assassin according to unverifiedreports.) Hopefully the crew of the ship which bore him to Rephidim can bequestioned, to discern any further indications of suspicious activity bythe subject.

Until then, may the inspiration of the First Ones continue to shine upon you.

Signed,

{unintelligible flourishing scrawl, the end of which vaguely resembles"Melchizedek"}