Under the Left Hand of the Emperor

by Horatio von Ruther

Follow Tech-Priest Ramirez Lupus in his grueling adventures in the service of the Inquisition. Based on a true (roleplaying session) story. The events in this are based off of my friends and I playing Dark Heresy, the roleplaying game for Warhammer 40,000. Each chapter is the events of a game session, and Ramirez's survival is NOT guaranteed, so hopefully it is exciting.

-DATA-FILE ACCESSED-

FILE: adeptus-mechanicus:lupus-ramirez-aubun:technographer

-CLEARANCE: INQUISITOR-

-PENDING-

-ACCESS GRANTED-

TECH-PRIEST'S LOG: Technographer Ramirez A. Lupus

Birth Date: 4.638.970.M41 Location: Forge World-Graia, Ultima Segmentum

4.595.978.M41- Beginning of the Rites of Initiation into the ranks of the venerated Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars.

4.248.989.M41- Waaagh! Grimskull invades Graia. Amidst the destruction of my beloved factorum home, I found myself contacted by what appeared to be a Planetary Defense Force trooper. He informed me of one of the greater forces at work on Graia, an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor by the name of Pallus Falco Jeddar. Shortly thereafter I was taken off planet to an Inquisitorial fleet at the edge of the system, where my training in the service of the Inquisition began.

1.060.995.M41- After a long Warp-transit our ship, the Litany of Diligence, has arrived in the blessed Sol System for refueling. From the great docks of Jupiter I could see a rust-red colored orb in the distance. Had my eyes not been replaced with artificial implants long ago I would have wept at the sight of Mars, birthplace of the Machine-Cult. Never in my mortal life would I have imagined seeing such beauty, even from the distance of half a system away. Further away, one of the deck hands identified an even larger steel-gray and white planet as Holy Terra, seat of the Almighty Emperor, whose time as the Omnissiah allowed Mankind to claim the galaxy as our own. As we began transit out of system (en route to a relatively new sector, Calixis, in the Segmentum Obscurus), it took the warning klaxons signaling the Warp-drives for me to cease my vigil at the viewport overlooking the Red Planet. Never again will I feel as touched as I did then.

9.724.998.M41- Following a brief stop in Segmentum Fortress Cypra Mundi, I was issued orders by my lord Inquisitor Jeddar. I was to meet up with what would become a new cell of Acolytes, consisting of three other persons drawn from across the Imperium. The first, Kali Orlean, descendant of royalty on a Cardinal world, was a female psyker who specialized in the secrets of the flame. Her bone-white hair and fair features disguised the horrifying nightmares that wracked her back in forth whenever she had a full night's sleep. Next came Zek [ : -] Smashface. This seeming simpleton and thief from a Feral world of no reputation proved to be more cunning than the brute I was expecting, with the muscles of a bulked servitor and the wits of a Ratling. Last, and most definitely least, was Magnus Grendel. Little more than a base murderer that toted himself as a professional assassin, his utter lack of discipline strained my ire on more than one occasion. Nonetheless, I would have to make do with his antics and those of the others should I prosper in my new environment. In the name of the Emperor I shall persevere.

9.001.999.M41- Inquisitor Pallus Falco Jeddar assigns our cell to investigate the planet Habis Prime for signs of corruption. Thus far our only lead to go off of is there are two separate cathedrals in the primary hive that have an unruly amount of competition between them. This has caused numerous reports of violence between their faithful, spilling over into even the ranks of the PDF. The cathedrals are the Church of the Iron Saint and the Church of the Lighted Path.

4.003.999.M41- Our cell makes planet-fall unobstructed in our Aquila Lander. Not making our roles as agents of the Inquisition known, we proceed to a mid-hive marketplace to acquire money from a strong box left here by Lord Jeddar. Following this we began wandering the area asking commoners their views on the two cathedrals, posing as clerks for a Magos Anthropologis. Whilst Kali, Zek, and I made some progress at this, not an hour had passed when we saw Magnus being dragged from a bar by three policemen. Attempting to ask why our fellow was being taken led to insults and threats, which at this point infuriated Zek and Magnus to the point of violence, and the drunken Magnus broke free of the policemen's grasp to unload his autogun into the man's side. Zek joined in and crushed another's chest with his mighty two-handed warhammer, dropping him to the ground. Kali proceeded to light the man on fire, and in his death throws he shouted for reinforcements via vox. At this point I found a peaceful solution impossible, and shot the remaining police officer in the head point blank with my laspistol, his head fried to a crisp. Most unfortunately, the last officer had first fired off a stub revolver into Kali's side and knocked her unconscious. I lifted the psyker and began carrying her down the alleyway we were in, hoping to avoid detection by the Arbitrators surely on their way. Sadly the fools Zek and Magnus deemed it better to loot the bodies instead of immediately making their escape, and my encumbered self could not move as swiftly as I liked, and the Arbitrators saw us enter a nearby building. Inside we ran past a bartender to the back room, Magnus told the man to cover our escape and passed him ten Thrones. As we cowered in the back room we noticed a hatch leading to a downward duct, and began trying to pry it open when we overheard the deep thud of boots enter the front room. A gruff voice asked "Where have they hidden?" To which the bartender replied "The back room" and laughed. Our cover blown, we frantically finished opening the hatch. Magnus slid down first, after which I lowered Kali in, and then jumped in myself. As I entered the duct I witnessed a salvo of lasgun fire burst through the room. Zek panicked and dove into the duct head first after me. Mere seconds into the descent Zek and I heard the *tink* *tink* of metal bouncing off of metal, we both screamed as a frag grenade exploded behind us, tearing cuts into Zek's feet. Thankfully we had enough of a head start to avoid the worst of the damage, and eventually we were deposited onto a metal grate walkway above a large room I recognized as a sewer silo. At this point Kali woke up, screaming from a fresh nightmare being interrupted by hitting the bottom of the duct. Making our way across the narrow walkway to the other side we were assaulted by mutated sewer hounds, evidently attracted by Kali's screaming. The Throne-damned abominations nearly dragged Magnus off the gantry when the last of their number were kicked off by Zek. Clinging to the bent and broken handrail, Magnus managed to climb back up, and we continued down the walkway. Coming to an access panel, I discovered the door before us was for a maintenance elevator, and summoned it to our floor. After a few minutes of waiting it arrived, and was merely a platform with handrails, a panel, and surrounded by dark abyss on all sides. It was inhabited by a homeless old man, who, when startled by our entry, fell off into the darkness. Moments later we heard a distant thud, and unanimously we grimaced at the thought. Ascending the elevator two hundred floors to the upper hive, we exited into a dark alleyway that appeared unused for years. Proceeding to find an inn to stay at, we paid for a two week stay in one room. Kali and I both slept in single beds; Zek took an armchair, and Magnus the floor.