Laconus woke in the small bed in the upstairs of the inn. It was hard for him to get used to staying in one place for so long. The bed was the most comfortable thing he had slept in, being an Ex-Guardsman, and before that a feral worlder. He stopped and listened for intruders, which was a habit that always stuck with him. After hearing no suspicious noises, he rose and washed his face with the tap inside the room, and looked in the mirror behind it. Laconus was handsome by most standards, with hard blue eyes and blonde flowing locks. The things that might have set him apart were the scar on his jaw leading up to his lip, and the small circular red gem amulet he always wore. His body was very well-toned, and had many tribal tatoos eminating from a face of a bear roaring ferociously. Here and there was an old wound, a scar, or a burn mark. Laconus was an obvious veteran. This coupled with his feral heritage had driven many to avoid him he was on now. Sceleran Delta, the fourth planet from the star Sceleran, as a "civilized Imperial" world, if that meant much. The planet had four continents, two in the north, one in the middle, and one in the south. The city he was currently in was named Caleron, and was the planetery capital, with a population of approximately nine million. Quite a change, Laconus thought, from his feral world home, Feruthia.

He took a deep breath and went to go get dressed. Unlike most Imperial citizens, Laconus wore more militant clothing than what was deemed normal. He wore a Camo-robe, with Flak armor over top. The robe was like any other hooded robe, but was parted between the legs and on the sides of them. The robes only went to the top of his shins, and were not very baggy to increase freedom of movement. The robes could change colour to blend in to the surroundings. The armor he wore over top was from the Imperial Guard, and consisted of a vest, shoulderpads and gauntlets. The colour of the armour was grey, with a few scratches here and there. Laconus got it repaired frequently, for it had saved his life more than once. He had a belt that carried most of his trappings, including a sword sheath for his sword. The sword was of Feruthian make, steel folded and forged until it could stand to the strength of daemons. After Laconus joined the guard, his sword was mono-sharpened, making the blade sharp enough to cut through concrete, and never lose it's edge. Picking up the sword, years of training and fighting flooded through his mind. The sword was his, and the runes along the blade proved it. They read:

"I belong to the warrior whose ferocity is only matched by his will."

Laconus sighed. How much have I lost to Chaos, he thought. He shook his head. Enough to pay them in earnest. He shouldered his lasgun, checked to make sure he had his coin purse, his ID and pulled out the data-slate with the contract on it. It read: Wanted: Tobias Lichtmann. Reward: three-thousand thrones. Wanted for fraud, robbery, and possible conduct with the great enemy. Contact Arbitrator-Lieutenant Scherer upon capture.

Below this was a picture of a man, Lichtmann, presumably. He wore a business suit, and was about average height and weight with a large moustache. His hair was short, and black. Without the bounty on his head, he might have been a normal banker. If the claims of Chaos-worship were true, the ex-guardsman would have hunted him down even without the bounty. The bounty was quite a large amount of money. It took him 40 thrones for a week's stay here in the Thirsty Dog Inn, and with that money he could buy additional equipment if he needed it. Laconus put away the data-slate and opened the door out of his room.

He stepped into the hall and the smell of amasec, food, and people wafted into his nostrils. He walked down the concrete stairs and into the main room. The room had a bar, tables and chairs made from scavenged wood, probably taken from leftover shipments leaving the city. He walked to the bar and ordered some amasec and breakfast. The alcoholic drink was as strong as it was in the Guard. The bar was mostly empty with only the bartender and a few passed out patrons from the night before. After finishing, he leaned back and used his psyker will to brush with all of the minds in the room. Not very many people in the room were notable. The bartender seemed to be keeping watch over the feral worlder. Not that it matters, Laconus thought, as long as he doesn't find out that I am a psyker. He sighed, and made for the door. The bartender kept an eye on the mercenary's back. What an odd guy, Laconus heard the bartender think.

He stepped into the morning street oustide the Thirsty Dog Inn. The air smelled of exhaust fumes and factory smoke. He could hear the sounds of manufacture, vehicles, and the din of people on their way to work. Warehouses, factories and apartments towered above the small streets. The streets were full of people walking to work, or in a rare case, driving on the auto-street above the walking streets. Tobias Lichtmann was reportedly last seen in the Manufactorum district, where the Thirsty Dog could be found. Laconus began to scan through the minds of the people on the street. This was just one of the ways he could use his psychic ability. He had learned many on the Feruthian campaign, but mind-reading was probably the best for this situation. He leaned up against the wall of the inn and continued scanning, hand on his sword.

After about half an hour of scanning, Laconus found someone. A tall man in his mid-thirties, who wore the coveralls of a common worker. He might have been, but he wasn't. To this man, Tobias Lichtmann was more that just a name and a picture. The psyker couldn't find out what from here, however. All of the minds here made it difficult to concentrate on a single being. It was like trying to read a single word on a giant wall of text. However, he could single out this man's thought signature, and follow him until they got to a secluded spot. Eventually, the man turned into an empty alleyway, and Laconus breathed a sigh of relief. Following the man was making Laconus slightly weary. Laconus stopped at the mouth of the alleyway, and checked for anyone who might follow. After verifying that he was clear, he caught up to the man and created a veil over himself and the worker. The veil was basically a small spot where people would not see, or hear, anything inside of it. From the inside, a person could see outside fine though.

Laconus grabbed the man by the shoulder, and forced him to the wall. He quickly drew his sword and pointed it at the man's throat. The man looked at him with terrified eyes.

"What do you want?" The man whimpered.

"I want to know what you know," Laconus whispered, "About Tobias Lichtmann."

The man shook his head. "No- Nothing.". A flicker of deceit entered the man's mind, just visible through all of the fear.

"Next time you lie," Laconus said, voice dripping with malice, "I take off a finger."

"Ninth warehouse," he cried, "On street fifteen, this district. That's where we meet. Now let me go!"

Laconus levelled his eyes with the worker's.

"Did you know that this man is a Chaos-worshipper?" The man's eyes widened once again.

"No! By the emperor, no. I thought he was just an outlaw. A gang leader with connections," He stuttered fearfully, "If he could give a helping hand in these hard times, then I would take all the help I could get."

"Well," Laconus said, "Be more careful, because next time, I will not be as merciful." He let the man go.

The mercenary sheathed his sword and watched the man hurriedly leave. The ninth warehouse then, Laconus thought, at least I've got a lead now.

Laconus stepped into Fifteenth street. Among the run-down apartments and warehouses of the Manufactorum district, this street was particularly dilapidated. Most of the warehouses and apartments were abandoned, crumbling, or both. The ninth warehouse should be easy to find, because each warehouse displayed its number along the top floor, and above the main doorway. After a bit of walking, he found it. The ninth warehouse. This particular warehouse was outfitted with large garage door, positioned next to a ramp that ran up to the auto-street. Laconus tried the main door. It was locked. Calmly, he formed a small shaft psychic energy, and forced it into the lock. It took the shape of the lock, and it clicked open. Laconus readied his lasgun, and entered the building, one hand on the rifle, one hand on the doorknob.

The building's interior was filled with crates, each spaced out to allow people to move throughout. There was a large magnet-crane on the ceiling, which was quite rusted and breaking. The tech-priests haven't been here in a while, Laconus mused. The entire building was lit by large lamps on the ceiling, which flickered in tandem from time to time. Laconus began to stealthily pad through rows of crates. After a few seconds, he sensed a presence. It was getting closer. Laconus hid behind a crate, back to the crate. The presence was proved to be a cultist, patrolling. The cultist was wearing deep blue robes, and carried a savage looking knife and a stub pistol. He was chanting something slowly. The ex-guardsman put his lasgun away, and quietly drew his sword. As the cultist walked past, Laconus grabbed him and covered his mouth. He pinned him to the ground and penetrated his mind. He found where he was to report to after he was done patrolling. The basement. Laconus receded his mind and sliced the heretic's throat.

He put away his sword and climbed up a crate. The feral worlder looked around the building for the basement door, and made his way there, sticking to the shadows. When he got there, there was another guard at the door, similar to the other one, inspecting an autogun. Laconus took advantage of his lack of attention, and leapt at the cultist from the shadows, impaling his heart with Feruthian steel before he could even raise a cry of alarm. That's two less that will plague humanity, he pondered. He opened the door and started down the stairs, following the dead cultist's thought trail.

At the bottom flight, there was another guard. This one had a large crab-like claw instead of a right hand, and had a horned head. Laconus readied his lasgun and fired two shots at his head. The whip-crack of the gun reverberated around the concrete hallway, and the light from the muzzle of the gun filled the chamber for a split second. Then the body slumped to the ground. A moment's silence hung in the air as Laconus quickly moved to the door. He tried to probe beyond the door for life-forces. Two, his sense told him.

Training took over. Laconus kicked open the door and fired at a cultist to his right. He shot twice, and his opponent fell to the floor. The other one was already on him, with a large hood over his face, wielding a short sword. Laconus narrowly dodged and psyker-pushed him to the far wall with great force. He heard a bone crunch. The ex-guardsman then shot the unmoving body.

The room itself was quite large, with two doors on each side, and a large altar in the middle. The altar had a small concrete slab, and behind that, a makeshift eight-pointed star, made from bones. The star of Chaos.

Even just looking at the star filled Laconus with hate. It reminded him of all the times he had seen it before, on Feruthia. So much blood had been spilled because of that damned thing.

His blood...

He looked again and noticed that there were a few men behind the altar, hidden in the shadow cast by the lights above. They all carried knives, pipes, axes, and in some cases, stub-pistols. They all wore similar garb to the guards upstairs, and some even bore a mutation. A third eye here, and a tentacle for an arm there. Among them was a figure that stood taller among the slouching mutants and heretics. He held a staff the bore a star of chaos with a skull in the center.

"You should not be here," The staff wielding man shouted, "Attack, my minions! For Chaos!"

The small crowd roared and surged at Laconus. Laconus rose a psychic shield to ward off any of their shots, then fired at the mob. It took only three seconds for them to reach the psyker, shouting, hollering, and shooting all the while. Shots pinged off of Laconus' psychic shield. When the crowd got to him, he dropped his lasgun and drew his sword with lightning speed. He parried a pipe swung by a three-armed man, and slashed into his neck with frightening alacrity. Another heretic slashed at him with a knife. Laconus shot a powerful bolt of psyker-lightening before the attacker struck, the mercenary's sword still buried in other cultist. He withdrew his sword and fought on, cleaving a pipe, then a madman's skull in twain with one strike.

Laconus considered his position. He was in the middle of many hostiles, so a feasible solution would be... Yes, he thought, that will work.

He swung his sword in a wide arc, and while the cultists withdrew for the moment, built up some energy. He channeled it into his blade, making the runes glow bright as stars. Then he twirled around, swinging his sword again, and unleashed the energy as he went. A torrent of ghostly blue-white flame erupted from the blade, engulfing the cultists in flames. Laconus then brought the sword up to his face, and thanked his gods and the Emperor for this strength. He lowered his blade, and looked across the room.

The cowled man with the staff was still standing. Laconus read his mind, and found that this man was in fact Tobias Lichtmann.

"Tobias," Laconus bellowed, "You're coming with me!"

Tobias shook his head, and began muttering a foul incantation. Laconus saw that Tobias was building up psychic energy, and quickly. Laconus began to close, but just as he got there, Tobias let loose a wave of blue flame. Laconus quickly shielded himself, and continued his advance. The flames stopped, and Tobias brought up his staff. The mercenary then punched the sorceror across the face, interrupting his incantation, and making the psychic energy dissipate. Laconus grabbed Tobias by the collar of his robe and threw him to the ground. Tobias shrieked with pain.

"Like I said" Laconus said, "You're coming with me."

He took out some handcuffs and shackled the chaos-worshiper, brought him up, and looked in his eyes. There were none, only pits where eyes should have been. Laconus laughed mirthlessly. The sorceror's face filled with despair.

"You're mad," He said

"No," Laconus replied, "I've just seen worse."

The bounty hunter brought out a tele-vox, and phoned the arbitrator's administratum. After a few seconds of ringing, someone answered.

"Lieutenant-Arbitrator Scherer speaking."

"Hello," Laconus said, "I've got Lichtmann, in Warhouse nine, fifteenth street. You can come pick him up now."

After a stunned silence, the Arbitrator replied.

"Well then. We will be there as soon as possible, then we can discuss payment."

"Okay"

The new bounty-hunter recounted what he had just done. Perhaps a life outside of the guard wouldn't be so bad after all.