Freeblade
M 40, 299, Holy Terra.
…
It was a slow day as usual for the scribe. He sat at his desk, slowly going over old records for the thousandth time. His job was stable, and it kept him out of the underhive, but it was so damn boring!
Just once he thought I wish something interesting would happen around here.
His wish was granted when the doors to the planetary archive opened.
The first to walk through the entryway was a tall man, who wore a long black greatcoat with a muted gold lining. A deep hood cast dark shadows over his features, but the scribe could see that his face had been weathered by time. His deep green eyes shone from the depths of his hood, glowering with knowledge powerful and forbidden. Beneath the greatcoat the scribe glimpsed dark armor and the bulges of weaponry distorted his silhouette.
His companion was dressed similarly, but her coat was lined in red. Her head was uncovered, and he saw that she was a young woman with an angular face, light brown hair, and hard, hazel eyes. Unlike her companion, her coat swung open, and he saw that she wore grey reinforced flak armor over black combat fatigues. Holstered on her left hip was a hellpistol, and a shock-maul swung from her belt. The scribe knew she would be just as dangerous as the man, if not more.
The pair didn't even spare him a glance and started to walk deeper into the archives. The scribe summoned up his courage and said "E...excuse me, sir, madam, you cannot enter the archives without clearance. I...I'll need to see some identification."
They turned to him, the man's face an impenetrable mask, the woman's written with annoyance. Her right hand moved towards the hilt of her shock-maul, but the man raised his hand to halt her. He strode towards the desk and reached beneath his coat. The scribe saw, briefly, a bulky energy pistol holstered at his hip, as well as the hilt of an ornate sword and an amulet in the shape of the Aquila hanging from his belt on a short sash. He produced a leather wallet and flipped it open, revealing an ornate steel pin in the shape of an I with a skull made from marble set in the center. The scribe's eyes popped wide open as the man announced "I am Marthas Devnir, Inquisitor of His holy ordos, and this is Interrogator Bethany Quiram." His eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice took on a threatening tone "I assume that this is credentials enough?"
The scribe stumbled over his words, eager to be away from this man. "Yesyes, of course, go right through."
The Inquisitor gave him a cold smile, then stowed his rosette and strode away. The Interrogator gave the scribe one last glare and followed her master into the archives.
The scribe slipped down into his chair and went back to work, vowing to file for a new position asap. This job was not worth having to deal with inquisitors.
…
Marthas and his pupil walked in silence for a few minutes, until the inquisitor stoped, lowered his hood, and looked down at his pupil, saying "You were ready to beat that man."
Bethany let out a sigh, hearing the disapproval in her master's voice. "I am sorry master, my anger got the best of me." She said, turning to face him.
Marthas shook his head. "I know, Bethany, but you must remember, our mission, for the moment, must remain completely secret. A beaten scribe would have raised questions, questions we cannot afford at this stage. In the future, please try to keep your anger in check."
The girl bowed her head. "Yes, master."
A small smile split the stony face of the inquisitor. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Beth. You are young. Control will come with time." He chuckled. "I know from experience."
Beth looked at him, questions on her lips, but Marthas was already moving, striding purposefully towards a section labeled planets.
"What are we here for master?" Beth asked, catching up to him.
"Tell me, Beth, have you ever heard of Gauntlet?"
Bethany's face scrunched up. "The rumored chapter-world of the Black Dragons? What about it?"
Marthas stopped before a shelf full of data slated and scrolls, looking up at the vast store of cluttered information. "I believe it exists, and I want to find it."
"Why?"
Marthas sighed. "The 21st founding was a catastrophe. Well over half of the chapters founded in that time have either turned to chaos, been destroyed by humanity's foes, or been wiped out by our colleagues in the Ordo Malleus because of their paranoia. Tens of thousands of space marines, gone, because of the Mechanicus' meddling." He paused. "But that meddling produced some of the most powerful marines in the imperium. I'll need that power for what is to come. I need a chapter to form the core of our force." He scanned the shelves absently. "The Flame Falcons were my first choice, but that bitch Weryn wiped them out. The Lamenters were next, but they are on the verge of extinction. So, that leaves me the Dragons." He looked at her. "I want to go to gauntlet and recruit the dragons for our venture." Back to the shelves. "I just need to find it." He muttered.
"What can I do to help?' Asked the aprentice.
"I'm fine for the moment. Feel free to look in on any of the leads you might have uncovered while we are here though." His eyes began to glow as he tapped into his psychic abilities to scan the tablets and scrolls for pertinent information.
Beth rolled her eyes and stalked off, annoyed with having been brought here for no particular reason. She walked around a corner and saw a terminal, which was hooked up to terra's noosphere. Well she thought, maybe I can check up on that planet I heard about from those men at the bar. What was it called...Keros?
She sat down at the terminal, and powered it began to roll down the screen.
Administratum planetary index accessed
Welcome!
Please enter your clearance code.
Bethany inputted her ten-digit code.
Scanning...accepted.
Clearance level: Inquisition. Access granted. Please enter a planet.
She grinned, and typed in the box indicated.
Search: Keros
searching…searching...Data found
Thought of the day: A fine mind is a blessing of the Emperor - It should not be cluttered with trivialities.
Basic Data:
Name: Keros
Segmentum: Segmentum Tempestus
Sector: Keros Sector
Subsector: Keros Subsector
System: Keros System
Population: 46'000'000
Affiliation: Imperium of man.
Class: Knight-World
Tithe Level: Aptus Non
Additional Notes: Keros is notable in that it is one of the few knight-worlds to house multiple knight-houses. The three noble houses, house Leoline, house Yinsou, and house Basisk have co-existed relatively peacefully for millennia. In order to maintain order, every 10 years the houses hold a tournament to decide which house will rule for the next 10 years. House Leoline, which has ruled for the last fifty years, prefers to use close-range firepower and brute force to destroy its enemies, and is most fond of the Errant and Gallant class knight-titans. Its ruler, High King Manfred, utilizes an ancient Acheron-pattern Cerastus knight suit in battle. House Yinsou prefers speedy precision strikes, and utilizes a mixture of all knight patterns. Its leader, Lord Shou, rides a Lancer-Class Cerastus knight to war. House Basisk prefers to engage its enemies from range, and so use many Paladin and Crusader classes. Its leader, King Crybor, pilots an Acheron-class suit. The Houses of Keros have aided many imperial war-efforts across the galaxy, and continue to do so to this day.
Kreros is also rumored to be the homeworld of the freeblade knight Silver Huntsman, who has been seen engaging Eldar and Orkish forces across the segmentum alongside the 501st Sytharian 'Worldtamers' regiment of the Astra Militarum since M 40. 286. The 501st is currently engaged in conflict on the world of Tarsis in the Segmentum Tempestus against dark-eldar raiders. The Huntsman has been seen on-world supporting the Worldtamers in battle.
Index closed
Thank you for your time. The Emperor protects.
Beth sat back in her chair. The Worldtamers. She had heard of this regiment. It came from a backwater hiveworld, and was reputed to be extremely good at pacifying indigenous species in preparation for the arrival of imperial settlers. And now, it was aided by a knight…
Beth grinned again, and went to look for Marthas. She ran into him (literally) as he came around the corner.
"Master, did you find it?"
"No, but I found a dragons company. The third is on a world called davros, in tempestus, fighting chaos cultists. We will go there and have them lead us to gauntlet."
A wide smile split Bethany's face. "Do you think we could make a small detour on the way there, master?"
Marthas looked at her strangely. "Where? Why?"
"I think I've found you some guardsmen for the mission. And, something a lot scarier."
...
Knight-World of Keros, 38 years earlier.
…
There was a tension in the air. Everyone in the keep could feel it, from the lowest servant to Lord Armund Ponde himself. Everyone in the keep seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for word. Felis Ponde, the lady of the keep, was on her childbed for the fifth time. And at 47 years old, everyone knew this would be her last time there. Outside the birthing chamber, Lord Armus waited with his three sons, Roland (the eldest), Jacob (the middle child), and Marcus (the youngest). The fourth child had been a stillborn daughter, and that birth had almost killed Felis. That had been three years ago. As such, everyone was nervous.
Finally, five hours after she went into labor, one of the midwives emerged from the birthing chambers. A baby's squalling could be heard from within.
Lord Armus, who had been sitting on a bench beside the door, scrambled to his feet. "How is she? How is the child?"
"The babe is fine: strong, with a good pair of lungs. But my lady is very weak. Come, come." She beckoned the men inside.
They walked hurriedly through the door and then down a short hallway and into the birthing room. The walls were hung with thick tapestries and curtains to muffle the sounds of birth. In the center of the room was the childbed, a four-poster feather bed. Lady Felis was laying there, covered in a sheet and propped up by many pillows. Her servant was dabbing at her forehead with a damp cloth. The child was in the arms of one of the other midwives, squalling its head off. "My lord, it's a girl! You have a daughter!" The woman said. Armund ignored her and rushed to the bedside of his wife. Roland and Jacob followed. Only Marcus paid any mind to the girl. He took her from the arms of the midwife and she stopped crying. The girl reached out with her chubby hands and grabbed his finger, gurgling. She had a pudgy, rounded face, and wisps of fiery red hair dusted her head.
"Hello there, little one." He said. "I guess I'm not the youngest anymore. Would you like to see your mother?" Marcus carried the child to the bed. His father sat on the edge of the bed, holding his wife's hand, while his brothers hovered over her worriedly. "Don't worry, my love." Felis said weakly. "I'll be fine. I'm just a little tired is all" She looked at Marcus and saw the bundle in his arms. "Son, give her to me." Marcus passed the bundle to his mother. She held the babe to her breast and it began to suckle.
Lord Armund reached to stroke his daughter's head. The girl let out a happy gurgle. "She's perfect." He looked at his wife. "What shall we name her?"
Felis smiled serenely. "Amelia. Her name will be Amelia."
…
That night, Felis passed away in her sleep. Stress from the birth, the doctors said. The household mourned her passing for weeks, and Amelia was passed into the care of nannies and a governess. Unbeknownst to the humans, Felis' death was no accident, but orchestrated by a group of very old creatures to manipulate the skeins of fate. Fate was sealed that night. But the question was, by whom...