1745 hours
The world stitched itself back together from the decimating explosion. Lumen strips flickered, sporadic flashes of light illuminating the twisted battleground the shuttle deck had become.
Vavru'galuch, the Nekulli bounty hunter, stood protectively over the Sister of the Void. He tracked the daemonic spirits as the Geller field, surging to life, pulled them back out of the ship and banished them into the swirling Warp. Hissing a threat, the xeno watched gaping fanged maws snap ineffectually at the shimmering barrier. Black eyes as deep as any abyss and brimming with malevolence, the daemons stared at what had been their prey moments before. Monstrous claws raked against the Geller field, testing its strength. Finding no weaknesses in the newly repaired defences, the daemons circled beyond the vessel's hull to wait for another chance to strike.
"Emperor protects," Vavru'galuch growled.
He kept his modified lasgun close. The small las-cannon mounted on his right shoulder whirred and clicked, searching for physical threats but found none. Peeling off his rebreather unit, he dropped it to the deck as atmospheric machines flushed oxygen back into the shuttle bay. Next to the Nekulli, Stonecastle shifted. Her brown eyes opened, confusion diminishing quickly when she realised she was not dead or digesting in the belly of some void beast. Pushing herself upright, the motion causing a small wave of pain to crash over her, the Sister of the Void examined her surroundings.
"We live?" Her voice was thick and dry. "We actually live?"
"We do, Katherine." Vavru'galuch helped the human to her feet. "Your approach to dealing with the enemy was crazed. Perhaps my thanks to the bouts of insanity which inflict your species? It saved us."
"Thanks to that," Stonecastle breathed. She warily regarded the daemons pressing against the barrier. Her eyes flicked down to the ruined summoning circle daubed in blood. "Captain Marcus should be on his way with reinforcements. They can repair the hull breach before... before something worse happens."
Vavru'galuch clicked his tongue. "The Geller field came back quickly. The master of the vessel employs great Tech-Priests."
"Praise that no souls were lost in this incursion. The Emperor truly protects. Does your Inquisitor know you might have just saved this whole ship?" Feeling something warm and wet trickling down her waist, Stonecastle glanced downwards. She saw the dark spread of blood staining her beige robes. "Vavru, help me to the hospice."
The Nekulli answered her question to take her mind off the injury. "My Inquisitor will know, though in her experience, she will not care about the saving of souls. The quarry she and I hunt is gone. I cannot find the witch's scent anymore, even in this charnel house."
"Who was the quarry, Vavru? I want-"
Stonecastle's foot kicked something lying across her path. She cried in dismay upon seeing the object, in itself innocent and harmless. A soot-covered porcelain doll, smooth face cracked and one eye missing, brown sausage curls blackened. Vavru'galuch picked it up, passing it to Stonecastle without a word. The woman's face was drawn tight, whether from pain or to halt the tears, it was difficult for him to discern.
They continued in silence to the medicae bay.
0700 hours
"All's well and souls rested, praise to Him everlasting." The small bell tinkled, in itself a pleasant sound in the early hours. "May the faithful be preserved on their journey across His realm, pious travellers in search of sanctity."
The Santiaga Path was dangerous to travel. Even the most void-hardened voyagers agreed. Its course wound mere sectors away from the imposing Eye of Terror. Dreaded nightmares continually assaulted the blessed Geller field, the very real fact of daemonic incursion ever present. If not for the black screens covering the realspace viewers, those aboard the vessel The Surprise would see the Immaterium and know true madness.
Captain Grastus Solus Marcus, of a proud Naval lineage, knew the dangers of the Santiaga Path but took the job. What spurred him were less a sense of bravado and more to earn a solid pay. He loathed ferrying pilgrims across numerous shrine worlds though held his tongue, even when he drank. Some of the religious seekers – prominent individuals – might overhear and further ruin Marcus' foul luck. He was nothing if not calculating. He employed people of various skills to alleviate the passage through the turbulent Warp. One employee stood before him now, ringing her small bell and giving early morning prayers on the bridge. Marcus was not a terribly spiritual man. As far as he knew, it was this nun's first time on an Imperial Frigate.
The Sister of the Void, Katherine Stonecastle, came to give services for the busy crew. Her beige robes contrasted with the bright red of the deck officers, the hooded stole of deep blue further marking her apart. A prominent aquila brooch inscribed with the word Fides brought attention to the unassuming Void of the non-militant organizations of nuns tutored on Terra, they travelled on various ships, plying their trade by protecting souls from perils of the Warp. Providing comfort, help, and protection to all they encountered, the Sisterhood was not as well-known as the militant branches but served a vital function.
Miss Stonecastle, finished with lauds prayers, placed the small bell away to reclaim her staff from the servitor. "He who shines into eternity watches us. Whosoever is true of faith, the darkness holds no terror." She recited the catechisms with ease.
"An interesting badge of office," Marcus commented, sipping a cup of stimm-kaffe. "I can imagine the manufacturing of those staves for your order are astronomical."
"We don't concern ourselves with monetary matters, captain." She studied the aquila-shaped focus thoughtfully. A finger touched the small crystal orb of light dangling from the eagle's beak. "To us, keeping the light safe from the shadows is strong enough motivation. Each soul must be granted safe passage. It's my order's sacred duty."
"I will tell you what motivates me; fame, valour, and the precious glint of gold. The last above all, for it greases the cogs of the The Surprise and keeps us afloat on the Santiaga Path."
"Have you travelled this path often?" Stonecastle was quickly learning the hazards of a pilgrimage trail. Instead of balking at the prospects, she relished the chance to prove herself. While her physical form might have been too weak to serve the more aggressive Orders, her spiritual resolve let her endure the worst.
He drank the remainder of his kaffe. "No, I only steer this course by the order of the illustrious Navy. A man does what his superiors dictate without question."
"I see," the nun answered. She paused before continuing, "Have you ever encountered problems?"
"To date there have been none. So close to the Eye," Marcus gestured at the blackened windows, "I wouldn't be surprised if the winds of fortune change. One can never tell."
His blunt cynicism bled into the woman's good mood. Tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, Stonecastle excused herself. Her work, and the smile it brought her, was better served if she walked the corridors of the vast star craft.
0900 hours
She passed pilgrims counting off their steps with a prayer at each yard. Others sung psalms whilst rubbing rosary beads. Still others held small tokens of reverence, jewels etched with religious passages close to the hearts of the devoted. One bauble caught the eye of the Void Maiden. Upon quizzing the owner where they had purchased the fine jewellery, sought her way to the artisan's shop.
It was one of many similar stalls lining the mercatus deck. Under a red awning, laid out on a table, wares of exquisite craftsmanship caught her eye. Moon pearl, beryl, sand turquoise and rubies were displayed in neat rows, prayers in High Gothic scribed on to their surfaces and marked with gold leaf. Picking up a garnet with the Prayer of Safe Passage coiling over the gem, Stonecastle held it up to the light. She failed to notice the stall owner until he asked, "Does the piece interest you? It's a mere ten thrones."
"As pleasing as it is, I must decline. My order doesn't approve of material possessions." Setting the garnet down, she picked up a moon pearl ring. "Did you make each one?"
"I did." For a few moments the artist preened. "Are you a fashioner of jewellery? The way you look at each one shows a practiced eye."
"No," Stonecastle shook her head. "But someone in my family did. She was commissioned for many pieces. Sadly, I can only be an admirer. The God-Emperor chose me for another purpose."
Offering his hand, the artisan smiled. The expression was friendly and open. "My name is Deren. I'm an Admech Artificer out from Rehubel, though this is my first time travelling the perilous void. I thought my craft would be better suited to pilgrims visiting the shrines."
"Offering expensive tokens of faith to poor travellers?" Shaking his hand, the nun looked at his soft palms. "Rehubel's an agri-world. Should I guess you never worked on a farm?"
"I left the farm when the chance came. It's a common enough tale." Deren shrugged good-naturedly, adjusting his blue smock. "I have to eat like everyone else, and many pilgrims are richer than they want people believing. It's fashionable now to travel the shrine worlds."
"And you saw an opportunity and took it?" Despite herself, Katherine grinned. Deren was a good conversationalist, something Captain Marcus lacked.
"As long as I can put my craft to a glorious use then I see myself helping the Imperial Creed. What is your occupation, Miss…?"
"Katherine Stonecastle, from the Order of the Sisterhood of the Void." When she saw the confused expression, the woman hurried on. "I travel the pilgrim paths and offer assistance to those in need. The Santiaga Path supposedly holds many perils with how close we're to the Eye."
"So if daemons should ever break through, you're the one I come running to for the salvation of my soul?" Deren jokingly winked at the nun. Katherine smiled, but the gesture carried a grave air.
"Pray the God-Emperor it never happens," she touched her aquila brooch. "Should it, then yes. Faith in the end is the only thing stopping evil. There are others of my order onboard. Should you have any problems, don't hesitate in asking for help." Nodding goodbye, Stonecastle continued her rounds.
"Miss Stonecastle, wait a moment."
She turned at Deren's raised voice. Concern lit her eyes. "Yes?"
"Five thrones for the garnet."
"Have a good day, Deren. May the saints watch over you."
1120 hours
"Only by denying our base desires we can attain the awakened state of being which the God-Emperor is part of. Casting off the yoke of our bestiality is the first in many steps. Saint Binang of Yongle knew this. Through his self-castration he found enlightenment. The masses will be made aware of Saint Binang's message."
The second preacher laughed at the first's doggedness. "How many people are willingly lining up to be sterilized? Your saint's message is amusing but incorrect. Nikolaos of Myra believed that with love can people express the Emperor's truth. After all, did He not have many sons and are we not His children? Nikolaos adhered that those with large families, those who go forth and multiply, do justice to the Emperor's vision of Humanity."
"Did not Nikolaos suffer death on the pyre? He was declaimed as working for the darker powers." Twiddling the massive gold ring on a spindly forefinger, the priest of Saint Binang smirked. "Love is not a reliable factor to base a font of religion from."
"A false charge proven only after his death. My saint was pure when those suffering from the Warp's madness touched his bones and were cured. Nikolaos' love saved them!" Fervour stirred the man's choler, causing his triple chins to quiver. "Are you saying Mankind stripping itself of emotions is the only way to become one with the Emperor? You are mistaken, brother."
"Binang knew for Humanity to garner control of the galaxy, we need to be stripped of weakness. The emotions that fuel you only weaken. A firm mind and steadfast resolve is what forged the great Imperium and defends our illustrious ruler on Terra."
Religious debates were common affairs on vessels crammed with pilgrims. Especially in the dining quarters. Always verbose, often confrontational, usually ending in the death of the weaker party, these debates were quickly ended when overheard. Drawn by the raised voices, Stonecastle stepped between the two followers of the Imperial Creed. Both priests had been ready to fight but in the presence of the new arrival, lowered their fists.
"Religious discussion is encouraged but acts of physical aggression are not condoned. Do not make me summon the security forces of this ship." Articulating the last clearly, the Sister of the Void banged the end of her staff on the deck. Both wizened men regarded each other, lips downturned in contempt, eyes blazing with anger. Both drifted away, leaving their cooling drinks and uneaten food on the table. Sagging in relief, Stonecastle turned back to her own meal, finding with chagrin that her appetite had fled.
1600 hours
The child seemed lost. Unusual, Stonecastle thought, given how richly the little girl dressed. People with money, or the influence of it, were seldom alone. Garbed in blue robes trimmed in ermine, the girl looked at the swirling mass of faithful in confusion. Her brown hair tightly arranged in sausage curls, she sat with a forlorn look. Perhaps the youth's charge was delayed or had lost sight of the young one in the crowd. The sodalitas deck teemed with the press of bodies, more than any other section of the Frigate. People becoming separated were not uncommon. Approaching the child with a smile, the nun took a seat next to her.
"Are you lost?"
"No." Shaking her head, the girl reached out to push the staff's crystal orb. "Mother said she would be back soon."
"Do you mind if I wait with you until she returns?" The child shrugged indifferently. Stonecastle deduced her age to be seven or eight standard years. "Have you been waiting long for your mother?"
"Not long. She just needed to take care of personal matters."
"Ah." Katherine paused, searching for another topic. Anything to keep the child occupied. "Is this your first time on a ship?"
"I've been on others. Bigger than this and with more people." The answers were brief, almost rehearsed in their formulaic response.
"That's a very pretty doll you have. I had one like it when I was your age." A porcelain doll was clutched protectively in small hands. Looking at the costume of the doll, Stonecastle noted the eerie resemblance to the child she conversed with. The Sister of the Void was going to ask about the doll when the mother of the child returned.
"Just who are you talking to? I said never talk to strangers." Separating herself from the crowd, a noblewoman strode purposefully toward them. Swathed from head to toe in blue and violet silk, draping sleeves covered her hands with a veil obscuring her face. Standing to not have this woman bear down on her, the Void Maiden inclined her head.
"My name is Katherine Stonecastle, milady. I was keeping watch over the young child until your return." She held her tongue before she spoke about the mother's irresponsibility. Leaving a child alone on a pilgrim vessel, no matter the goodwill of its passengers, was mindless. "We were talking about ship travel."
"Is it true," the girl piped up suddenly, "souls out there are trying to get in?" Pointing at the darkened realspace viewers, the child looked between her mother and the Sister of the Void. She seemed to appreciate being the center of attention for once.
Stonecastle answered first. "Beyond the walls of The Surprise is the Warp. It is a treacherous place full of daemons waiting to take your soul because they don't have one. We are safe only because of the Geller field. It cocoons us," she mimed this by pressing her hands together. "We aren't affected as long as the field holds. Without that, we would all be cast into darkness and far from the Emperor's light."
"You feed her lies. I won't have you polluting her mind," the noblewoman hissed. Her hands rested on the child's shoulders. "The currents of the aether change. What you call daemons are beings of that realm. Many fail to understand this and place restrictions on the Warp. Limitations which limit people's mind; conceptions of time and space hindering their mental growth."
"Just what do you mean by that?" Threatened by the woman's tone, Stonecastle gripped her staff of office.
"I mean what I say. You speak with knowledge you were raised with. You never questioned and now spew it out without intimately knowing from experience. My dear child," the woman crouched down to look her daughter in the eye. "Do not listen to this version of the Imperial Creed. This advisor doesn't know what she preaches."
"Excuse me, but what right do you have to treat an Imperial servant in such a manner?" Emboldened, Stonecastle glowered at the aristocratic matriarch.
"What gives you the right to speak lies openly? Don't talk of things you pretend to know. Come along, dearheart." Grasping the girl by the hand, the noblewoman and her daughter merged with the crowd. Blue eyes, full of curiosity and unspoken questions, looked back at the Sister of the Void. She smiled at the child before the crowd swallowed the girl up. Her lips moved soundlessly as she gave a prayer to the child's future protection.
A shout rang across the sodalitas deck. Stonecastle turned at the sound, just one of many looking at the disturbance. A man was hollering at the being standing before him, the catalyst of the drama. Stonecastle hurried over to deal with the altercation, pushing her way through the growing crowd. It would be a refreshing breath to settle something mundane after the personal attack she endured. An accusing finger from the officer pointed toward the cause of the ruckus.
"Unholy spawn! The Warp bred it, I know!" Dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking Naval officer, a class Stonecastle was growing weary of, the man stirred the others around him until his frenzy nearly became theirs. Slapping his hand down, the Void Maiden thumped the base of her staff on his foot.
"Keep your tone level. It isn't a spawn." Katherine Stonecastle hastily looked toward the cause of commotion. Years of schola training came to the fore as she discerned the type of xeno occupying the space. It was easy confusing alien races without proper training, doubly so given the rarity of seeing them. The Sister of the Void needed a moment until she was sure of her deduction.
A Nekulli. Height greater than a human's, coming nearly to the stature of the fabled Astartes, the xeno's lithe frame was slightly hunched to accommodate its passage around the ship. Its face was nightmarish, corpse pale skin stretched over a skeletal frame where deep-set eyes suspiciously regarded the crowd. A lipless mouth encircled razor sharp teeth. From the protruding lower jaw, two needle-thin fangs pushed up to the non-existent cartilage of its nose.
"Thasi quix isug," the Nekulli uttered, waving a hand. Its hair scales rattled in annoyance as tapered claws drummed against the strap of its lasgun.
"Yah, isol g'rak," she replied quickly. The Sister of the Void turned to the man. "He wants to know why you're so hysterical."
The young man heaved in deep breaths, never taking his eyes from the alien. He spoke again, "What the hell is that?"
"Its a he," Katherine corrected, nodding at the alien. "A Nekulli. Yutaj, iv de brek'he djyo?"
"Nyut, krash vak. Vavru'galuch wo djiv Vavru," the Nekulli gestured at himself with one elongated arm, corded muscle rippling under his black bodysuit. "Brek'si djyo?"
Stonecastle turned back to the officer. "What's your name, sir?"
"Why does that matter?" Flustered, elegant composure gone, he was the proverbial fish out of water. Or, the Void Maiden thought, a baby too far away from the nursery.
"Formal introductions need to be done. It's their custom before proper talks can begin."
Straightening his gold-braided coat, the man said, "First Officer Jaromir Xander Preston, third son of Duke Vladimir Preston, commander of the vessel-"
"Jaromir. Katherine." Katherine smiled at the Nekulli. "His name is Vavru'galuch or Vavru for short. He says he's an Imperial sanctioned bounty hunter. His quarry was on this deck, but your display caused him to lose sight."
Jaromir looked oddly at Katherine, suspicion flickering in his eyes. "How did you understand all that? And when does the Imperium ally itself with xenos scum?"
Sighing, she refrained from rubbing her temples to relieve the forming headache. "Nekulli are tolerated hunters, just as Ogryn and ratlings are considered beneficial in the scheme of the Imperium. A Sister of the Void is well trained on Terra in xenos languages for events such as this. You should be thankful that Captain Marcus has employed my services."
Jaromir sneered. "An amusing tale. Imperial jurisdictions state those aboard any ship and of xenos background must show their profession's permit. Otherwise a very simple jaunt to the closest airlock follows. Where is his sanction?" The Navy officer once again pointed his finger at the alien, this time in triumph.
Stonecastle resisted the urge to clout the bore. Instead, she hastily translated Jaromir's words, praying Vavru'galuch would not be insulted. The bounty hunter reached into his satchel and, withdrawing a parchment, unrolled it and thrust the permit in Jaromir's face. Not only did the bounty hunter have permission to walk the corridors of The Surprise, but it seemed he had a great deal of leniency via the seal of the Holy Inquisition. Face paling under the dreaded symbol, Jaromir took a step back on well polished boots.
"Well, tell the xeno to keep away from me. He's uglier than sin."
Vavru'galuch hissed at Jaromir's words. The officer shied away, suddenly remembering a meeting he needed to attend, and was gone. The excitement halted, the gathered crowd began to disperse. It was just as well they moved before the security forces batted them away with power cudgels. The pilgrims parted around the nun and xeno like water diverted by an island. The lull was uncomfortable. Vavru'galuch's white eyes looked at the interpreter in consideration.
"I apologise," Katherine said, looking close at the parchment. Encountering someone who worked for the Holy Ordos brought equal parts of trepidation and curiosity to her humours. The Santiaga Path was full of surprises.
"Why do you express regret for his actions?" Speaking in perfect Low Gothic, the bounty hunter gestured into the sea of faces. "He isn't your responsibility. None of these people are."
Katherine gaped. "You mean you could have argued against him? Why didn't you?"
"I have my reasons. Humans aren't as enlightened as they wish themselves to be," the Nekulli replied blithely. "Not when compared to other races they compete against. Some humans understand this and are much better for it. Some aliens acknowledge the symbiotic relationship of the galaxy and don't disturb it."
"Are you the latter?"
Vavru'galuch's chest rumbled. It took Stonecastle a moment to realise he was laughing. "I don't call humans base names and insult them openly. I give my thanks to your intrusion, Sister of the Void, but I must leave. My quarry's scent grows cold. I need to continue the chase." He turned into the crowd, the people easily parting to allow the alien to walk without hindrance.
"Wait," she called after the xeno. "This person you're hunting… you plan to take them alive? Is this in conjunction with an Inquisitor? Is the Inquisitor aboard this vessel right now?"
"She is not," the hunter answered. "But the quarry I seek is the same she does. Presently aboard another vessel, my Inquisitor relays information when she can. My luck has held in this hunt to find the prey first. As for the quarry, the less you know serves you better."
"Do you want help catching this person? My duties extend to the protection of all souls on this vessel. I should be included. I must." Vavru'galuch did not answer. His armoured form vanished into the crowd as though he never was. Stonecastle's anxiety rose at the notion of violence. Not only that but the presence of the Inquisition and all it entailed. The safety of the passengers, even the one Vavru'galuch was after, was Katherine Stonecastle's responsibility. It was decided.
She followed the bounty hunter and prayed to the Emperor for guidance with each step. The Sister of the Void felt she would need it in the coming hours.
1630 hours
Emuehl was a voidfarer. His existence was bound to the fate of The Surprise. As many of his kind did, Emuehl worked long hours, often in dangerous and extreme places. Radiation exposure was one of the hazards in his work environment and, he was certain, which would end his life. Whenever he hacked up phlegm, Emuehl would obsessively look at the contents, seeking the blood that would portend his doom. For every breath he pulled into his weakening lungs, the man sought to hear the death rattle waiting beyond each exhalation. Like other voidfarers, Emuehl knew it was only time until the reaper claimed him from the ship's poisonous emissions. It was a sluggish demise, one he did not embrace. He contemplated death as a foe, one he prayed against in the warmth of his berth while holding his rosary. Tonight Emuehl would pray doubly for protection against the unwelcoming gaze of death.
He clanked along the deck of the shuttle bay, undertaking the inspection checks with utmost seriousness, when a child's laughter interrupted his morbid train of thought. Scanning the expansive bay, past the lightly armoured cutters and small craft, he turned in the direction of the stacked cargo crates. The laugh came again. Weaving through the labyrinth of boxes, the man heard a woman's lilting voice. The words were unfamiliar, neither in High or Low Gothic, the pull generated in their utterance raised Emuehl's hackles.
Rounding a section of plasteel containers, the voidfarer confronted two people. A richly attired woman was painting a red circle on the metal flooring while the child stood inside the corona, rocking her doll. "Hey now," Emuehl raised his voice authoritatively. "Nobody's allowed here. This area's restricted to pilgrims."
Emuehl never had to worry about a slow decay from radiation. His last thoughts as he looked into the blazing eyes of the noblewoman were that he should have continued on to his berth, not investigate the innocent laughter of a child.
1700 hours
On the bridge, Captain Marcus swore at the alarm ringing across the bridge. Bawling at the technicians to identify the problem, he stared in undisguised anxiety at the emergency runes. A section of the hull on his beautiful Frigate flashed blood red. "Where is this?" he shouted.
"Fifth shuttle bay, aft section," the prompt reply from his first officer cut the air. "Weapons fire was discharged moments ago."
"How? Who was it?"
"Unconfirmed, sir. All contact with shuttle bay five is lost. From what we can get..." Fear flashed in the officer's eyes. He turned to Marcus. "Someone must have stolen one of the cutters. The hull's been breached, captain."
"Do we have containment? What are the readings?" To have a breach in the Warp itself was to invite folly and damnation. Marcus' palms were coated in a fine sheen of sweat at the thought. Who was crazed enough to abandon ship transiting through the Warp? "Get that breach secured!"
"Captain," a rating shouted from further down the bridge. "The Geller field is wavering! Power relays along shuttle bay five have been disconnected."
"Merciful God-Emperor," he breathed, scanning the readouts. "Summon the Tech-Priest and get a security detail down to the shuttle bay." Barking for the head of security, Marcus ordered him to make for the shuttle bay with all possible haste. Marcus' officers turned to him for commands.
"Captain, the field?"
"Put as much power as you can into it, for Throne's sake! Don't let it flounder for a moment or we're lost to the Sea of Souls!"
Watching the activity on the bridge whip into frenzy, Marcus grimly bit the inside of his mouth and drew blood. Sabotage on The Surprise. The craft was certainly living up to her name.
1703 hours
On the mercatus deck, people began feeling nauseous. Stronger minds reeled as mental images bombarded their psyche; weaker minds broke. People started weeping without knowing why, others became violent. Deren shied back in his makeshift shop, arming himself as the wave of madness swept over everyone. He laughed, then started crying in fear while a grin painfully stretched his face. Someone screamed out in the corridor.
"Praise the God-Emperor," Deren madly chanted. "Praise Him, praise be, praise be!"
1705 hours
Stonecastle followed Vavru'galuch at a distance. Pools of red light from lumen stripes flashed in cadence to the warning klaxons blaring across the ship. When the Frigate juddered, the floor tilting to one side, the Sister of the Void reached out to brace herself. She gripped nothing but air. Skidding down the corridor as the deck slanted further, the angle became so sharp her legs gave out beneath her. Accelerating too quickly to stop, the nun saw a junction rushing up. She braced herself for the impact. Suddenly, miraculously, and not with a little amazement, The Surprise angled back out. What would have been a bone-crunching collision with the steel wall became a light blow against Stonecastle's body.
Staggering to her feet, the Void Maiden rounded the corner to her left, hoping the bounty hunter had gone down that way. Pursuing him into the shuttle bays hadn't lessened her anxiety to the fact that a passenger's life was in danger. Vavru'galuch might be an Inquisitorial agent with a mandate giving him free rein, but Stonecastle was damned if he would take another's life. She was charged in guarding the souls on their voyage.
Walking down the corridor, a feeling of light-headedness passed over her. She brushed it off as her charged drop down the passageway, bundled nerves working themselves out, but that was not it. Stonecastle's shivers were not from adrenaline coursing through her body, nor an explanation why her breath became white plumes of smoke in the air.
The massive bulkhead doors to shuttle bay five yawned open, inviting the Imperial servant within its cavernous hold. A rent in the hull occupied the space where the bay doors had once been. Heavy plasteel crates and light crafts were strewn across the plated decking, tossed like kindling. Stonecastle's stomach lurched at the thought she had been too late to stop the bounty hunter from claiming his prize. Disoriented, the lack of oxygen confusing the nun's senses, she stumbled into the Nekulli bounty hunter. Stonecastle looked up with dull eyes at the alien, not quite comprehending how she hadn't seen him before. Vavru'galuch's hair scales rattled. Backlit by the deck's scarlet lumens, Vavru'galuch glared at the Sister of the Void.
"Not a place for those not warriors," he growled. His words were muffled behind the rebreather he wore. Seeing her state, the Nekulli quickly produced another rebreather unit from an emergency side panel. Offering it to Stonecastle, the woman heaved deep breathes to her oxygen starved lungs, focusing on the deck and where Vavru'galuch's prey had run to. And froze at what she saw.
In the middle of a blood-daubed circle, rising unsteadily on newborn legs, a daemon woke. A hole blasted in the hull of the vessel framed the abomination in swirls of noxious colours, and beyond those impossible hues, daemons cavorted. The Maelstrom denizens tested the Geller field. Its weakened protection flexed against their claws, shivered, and with a popping sound of a seal releasing, something gave. A rent was found. The daemons started to pour in.
1707 hours
First Officer Jaromir Xander Preston drew his cutlass and waved it at the frantic pilgrims swirling through the sodalitas deck and corridors beyond. "Cease your madness. Cease this and return to your rooms!"
Someone knocked him down. Jaromir lost his sword amid the pounding feet, quickly rising to not be crushed underfoot. The surge carried the Naval officer along, a wave of rising madness he could not order or compel.
1708 hours
Troopers thundered down corridors teeming with distraught pilgrims. Some were battered away, others clubbed when they became violent. The press of bodies halted the troopers advance, guided as though by some higher force. With them, the Tech-Priest of The Surprise shook his mechanical arms in an all too human gesture, and prayed to the Machine God.
1710 hours
Vavru'galuch's shoulder mounted las-cannon fired. The stream of bright energy found its target in the midriff of a quadrupled monstrosity. Squealing in pain, the thing birthed from the void curled upon itself, turning to ash, only for its remains to be kicked aside as its larger brethren stormed forward, hungry for the souls locked in the corporeal forms of the Nekulli and human. Claws reached to caress, to ensnare, to rend the warm flesh of those too close. Nimbly leaping back from the bared talons, Vavru'glauch swung out with the butt of his rifle to keep the serrated limbs from touching. Barking a battle cry, the xeno rotated the stock around and released a volley of punishing fire at the swarming mass of daemons.
Those existences that were not firmly rooted in the Materium dissipated like morning mist. Those of a stronger constitution staggered on. His las-cannon charged to full capacity; Vavru'glauch sent another hail of fire at his foes. They came on, his efforts in vain. An oblong face with a series of distended mouths laughed at the alien's efforts, ichor tongues whipping through the air as if tasting for the warrior's fear.
"Move fast, nun!" Vavru'glauch hissed at the Sister of the Void. He could not see her, not while confronting the daemons to buy her desperate time. A distressing beep from his mounted las-cannon told the bounty hunter its cell was depleted. Long-range attacks were beyond him now.
Katherine Stonecastle did not answer. She stood outside the circle of blood, her knees locked, body trembling, her mind wavering between sanity and lunacy. From her staff the orb of light shone in the swirling darkness, its hypnotic swing holding the Void Maiden's attention as her mind fumbled desperately to remember. How did one confront a daemon? Could she even banish this entity rearing back on its jointed legs, exoskeleton glistening with amniotic fluids?
"God-Emperor," Stonecastle whispered, tears falling down her cheeks and over her glass rebreather. "Grant me deliverance from evil." At the name of the divine being, the daemon's head snapped back and it loosed a savage howl. The Sister of the Void screamed out a prayer, a single plea fraught with terror.
The Nekulli were, noted by the Ordo Xenos, resistant to the Warp effects and its denizens. The bounty hunter used this to his advantage, holding his ground until the cell of his lasrifle ran dry. Snarling at the encroaching hunters, the lone warrior used his weapon as a makeshift club. And when that was ripped from him, the Nekulli sprang back to draw his dagger. The curved blade whistled as it cast about in a deadly arc, ripping apart the spawn. Too close, his enemies were too close.
"Oath to my ancestors," Vavru'galuch hissed. "Kith will have to pay more for this."
Katherine Stonecastle, Sister of the Void and protector of souls, beheld the daemon. Its eyes were not the blackest pools of ink she was taught to believe. They were blue, filled with savage fear. A rising shriek issued from the daemon's maw, a chorus of children screaming their last, of being pulled into oblivion with no salvation. Panic smothered Stonecastle as the daemon took a tentative step forward. An upper set of triple jointed limbs uncurled, reaching out to hold the Sister of the Void in its dreadful arms. Smoke rose from the summoned daemon's flesh when it crossed over the barrier, still struggling to commit its psyche to the material realm. Its deliberate actions broke the woman's paralysis.
"The God-Emperor is my strength and shield. He is my rock and my sanctuary! Before His might all becomes as nothing!" Katherine screeched the prayer. "Those of everlasting faith are granted eternal strength! I am not afraid! In the name of the God-Emperor, I banish you back to the Warp!"
Her eagle-headed staff blazed with light. The small crystal suspended from the staff – whispered to be a shard from the God-Emperor's crown – shone as bright as a nova. The world twisted and contorted against the daemon, one cloven hoof outside of the circle, shrieked again. Stonecastle's rebreather unit cracked, fine webs expanding across the glass. The world came undone in an explosion of brilliant light. Stonecastle saw Vavru'galuch race toward her as the daemon with blue eyes burned…
2330 hours
"All's well and souls rested, praise to Him everlasting." The small bell tinkled but the sound was hollow. The late hours did nothing to soothe Stonecastle's anxious soul. "May the faithful be preserved on their journey across His realm, pious travelers in search of sanctity."
She had checked the roster. Again and again, even taking Marcus into her confidence to what she searched for. The captain reached the same conclusion after appraising the passenger manifest. Two souls were missing after the daemonic incursion, two names and bodies unaccounted for in the three thousand aboard. Vavru'galuch insisted his quarry was no longer aboard. He could not detect the specific scent any longer. Whining pitifully in the bed next to hers in the medicae center, Jaromir told Stonecastle two souls did not matter against the majority. It was easy for someone of his lifestyle to make a baseless claim.
Resting on her night table was the small doll, its porcelain face cracked and once pristine clothing streaked in greasy ash. Come the morning, Katherine knew she would incinerate it but for the moment, she contemplated what the doll represented. Two souls missing…
"Don't talk of things you pretend to know."
The woman's arrogant voice seeped into Stonecastle's mind as she turned down her bedding for the night. A flash of pain from broken ribs and stitched skin made her churning thoughts grow dark. A child who was never the daughter of the noblewoman. A daemon already onboard as the Geller field nearly failed; a possible ship's malfunction? Or the workings of something far more sinister?
There were many dangers to the souls along the Santiaga Path, dangers Stonecastle was only too quickly coming to grasps with. She would commission a prayer ring from Deren, she concluded. Yes, right after she destroyed the doll the next morning. Somewhere, perhaps in her mind or in the seething Warp beyond the fragile Geller field protecting the ship, she thought a bell chimed.
She clutched her aquila tighter and closed her eyes, believing that when she woke in the next cycle, things would be much better.