Cleanse and Purify

The flames in the braziers on the walls of the great hall flickered, casting the congregation in an ever-changing mixture of light and shadow. An immense mass of humanity, the black robed figures chanting softly, following the lead of the tall, powerfully built man in the pulpit. The man gestured and the chanting stopped, bringing silence to the cavernous room. He began to speak, his voice resounding strongly within the walls of the hall.

"My brothers," he began, "our time has come. Today, today, we will throw off the shackles that imprison us, the manacles that bind us to a rotting corpse and we will break the bars of our prison and release our hatred unto the false Imperium of the false Emperor! May our gods grant us the strength to do so! May Chaos bless us with the power to overthrow our gaolers and bring the true teachings upon the masses!" the leader's voice had risen to a crescendo, "Now, we must take up arms and bring this planet to it knees! We must…"

A massive explosion wracked the room as the two enormous doors blew inwards, obliterating those nearby and throwing their broken bodies across the room like rag dolls. Before the flames of the explosion had even began to dissipate, figures rushed into the hall. Taking up position around the doorway, each of the nine men sighting their hellrifles at the cultists in the hall. They wore black uniforms; black armour over jumpsuits, black visored helmets with respirators visible underneath. They were all large men, each well over six feet tall, all heavily muscled, and all holding their rifles unwaveringly. It is only if one were to look closely that they would see the small badge on the armour of each of the men, a small I symbol, the badge of the Inquisition.

Following slightly behind the other men came an tenth. He was dressed the same as the other men, head to foot in black, with the visored helmet. He was about 6 feet tall and less heavily built than the other men, but he still exuded the aura of menace that they all did. He was not armed with a rifle, as all the others were, instead he had a pair of vambraces that stretched from his wrists up to just before his elbows, as black as the rest of his equipment. As he strode forwards, three blades slid from each vambrace, each one a foot long and crackling with energy. He spoke, his voice sounding harsh from behind his helmet:

"Kill them. Kill them all."

At his command, the storm troopers opened fire on the cultists, cutting down dozens of them before they could respond. Those that survived the initial barrage snatched up weapons and tried to confront their attackers. They were massacred before they could even get close. Some cultists tried to attack the leader, but he was too fast, ducking the clumsy blows and slashing his blades across their bodies.

In a matter of minutes, the hall was cleansed, all life ended, the black armoured men the only living left within the confines of the walls. Engaging his com-link, the leader spoke:

"Diaz to Pernon. Acknowledge."

"This is Pernon, Sergeant. Report?"

"It is done, Inquisitor. They are all dead. Your command?"

"Raze it to the ground Sergeant. Pernon out."

Diaz turned to his men, pointed to two of them and gave his orders. The men nodded, hurried to set the explosive charges that they carried. Ordering the rest of his men to leave, Diaz waited for the two remaining men to finish their work, before joining his squad outside the old chapel that had been taken over by the small cult. Wordlessly, he was handed the explosive trigger, nodding once before pressing the small button. The charges set in the building activated, destroying the internal supports, causing the roof to collapse inwards. As this occurred, secondary charges activated, setting the remains of the building ablaze.

As they watched the chapel burn, the squad could hear the sounds of the Valkyrie gunship begin its decent to receive them. The storm troopers walked over to it and began to board. Standing on the landing ramp, Diaz turned slightly, looking back into the flames.

"Is est perfectus." he murmured. It is done.

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DISCLAIMER: Games Workshop owns the franchise, I own the characters.