The gatekeeper - part 3

Back in AD 21304 it took quite some time for a dinghy to cross the distance between the gate hangar and a freighter thirty-odd kilometers away. Khafkan, mightily angry that someone had gone over his head, was determined to use this time to apply the full might of his administrative prowess to unearth other possible objections against approving the jump.

He sifted through the web of holding companies to find that the owner - the one who must have contacted his superior - was the chapter master of the Order of The Promised Planet, currently under investigation by the Council of Apostles. They were against Amarr's expansion to the stars and advocated that everyone should stay on our home world, the promised planet where the prophet Gheinok led us to. While he found it very ironic that exactly these folk are now in a hurry to get to Hedion, this was not a cause to deny the jump authorization.

Another thing that caught his eye was the ship's manifest. It had not raised any concerns that they were transporting pluche toys, interior house decorations, cosmetics from a line of a famous singer, and class II industrial waste. The paperwork for that was perfectly in order. But they had claimed to be on an emergency. Khafkan failed to see how these items could constitute an emergency shipment. At the very least an inspection was in order.

That is why, after landing his dinghy in the freighter's docking bay, he did not follow the droid to the bridge to get the signature, but took a sudden turn and headed towards the cargo bay. 

What he saw there, was not in accordance with regulations.

The cargo bay was stocked from floor to ceiling with crates of explosives. 

Khafkan did not make it back to his dinghy. Before a blaster blew a fist-sized hole in his chest, he was able to message the gunner the correct codes of the various infractions committed by the terrorists. With his last breath, he added "Jump request still denied". 

When the freighter made a run for the gate, the gunner drew the correct conclusion, and opened fire. The exploding ship damaged the gate, but it did not achieve the ultimate goal of the conspirators: to destroy our first and back then only stable wormhole connection to another star system. They had hoped to permanently seal off Amarr from the rest of the universe. The order, henceforth known as the Sealers, was outlawed and purged.

As for Khafkan, to this very day he is venerated as patron saint of bureaucracy.