The noise in the cabin grew considerably as the shuttle made contact with atmosphere, but Arkon did not notice. The Inquisitor was too focused for that now. Inquisitor – the title still sounded strange, 10 years on from his elevation. 10 years was a long time, and he had accomplished much, but at that moment he felt he had never felt so unprepared. So much rested on this mission, far too much. If the experiment was a success it could be the turning point. If it was a failure, it would almost certainly cost Arkon his life, and the lives of his crew. He looked around the cabin, gauging the readiness of his team, and was impressed by what he saw. They looked calm and collected, and most importantly they were unafraid.
On his left were the two Space Marines. Brother Mortan had his eyes closed, a look of serenity on his face. He was always like this before the battle. It would change. He had lost his squad and his home world to Hive Fleet Goliath, and hated the Tyranids with zealousness extreme even for a Space Marine. Arkon wondered briefly how many of the foul beasts had met their end in the purging fires of the Salamander's flamer. The tally must have been in the hundreds before Arkon had even met him, almost a decade ago…
It had been his first real step on the path to his destiny, his first mission as an Inquisitor. When the Ordo Xenos gave him the rank he had dedicated himself to stopping the Tyranids, and upon his elevation he immediately set out to Gorlan IV, a world already doomed to be devoured by Goliath. The hive fleet had just entered the galaxy from the void, and this was the first major world it attacked. There he witnessed the planet's final days, fighting alongside the Salamanders and Guardsmen trying to save as many as civilians as they could. Arkon had learnt much about the Tyranid's tactics there, and had gained the first member of his team. Mortan lost the last member of his squad on the final day of fighting, and had tried to sacrifice himself just to kill more of the enemy. His fate looked sealed as the last of the transports left him on the landing pad, surrounded by thousands of Tyranids, the last human on a doomed planet.
It was a daring "rescue" by Arkon that had saved him. The Inquisitor had fought at Mortan's side for more than a week, and the Salamander had not once rested. The Inquisitor's ship left with the final convoy, and Arkon had seen the lone green figure blasting gaunt after gaunt into ash and knew the man was too valuable to be allowed to die. He made his pilot – the same man was on the flight deck of this ship – go back and drop the umbilical airlock around the marine. The titanium column protected the Space Marine from the claws of his foe for long enough for Arkon to fill it with engine coolant. The toxic fumes would have killed a normal man, but they merely sedated Mortan. Arkon and his crew has then hauled the unconscious giant into the ship proper, and the made good their escape. When the Space Marine came to he realised that he would have made a mistake to throw his life away with no real purpose, and swore to protect the Inquisitor, to aid him against the Tyranids. Even so, Arkon knew the often the Marine wished he had been left to die on his world, alongside his battle-brothers. He also knew how uncomfortable the Salamander was with some of Arkon's ideas, including his current experiment, but the marine had taken an oath, and would never say anything. Especially as the Inquisitor was right.
