'''Lord Messarian''' was the ruler of the planet Sulo who had ambitions of building an Empire in the [[Eastern Fringe]]. By manipulating records to make it appear that the planet's crops were poor and its workshops idle, he had a pretence to withold withhold his [[tithes]] from the [[Imperium]]. He used this to increase the size of his own forces and allied himself with renegades from the [[Famir]] system to build up his power base.{{Fn|1}}

'''Andrukas''' was Marshal of Court for the [[Adeptus Arbites]] on Sulo. Described as a tall, grey and unbending man, he enforced the ''[[Lex Imperialis]]'' from his fortified Courthouse with one hundred [[Arbitrators]]. Andrukas knew that Messarian was falsifying his records and witholding withholding his tithes, and had seen firsthand the military buildup. When he captured Famir renegades raiding in the system, he realised the extent of Messarian's crimes. He sent an astropathic communication to the [[Judge]]s but had no way of knowing how long it would be before he could expect reinforcements.{{Fn|1}}