A/N Editing the first chapter. Sorry no double update guys, gals, and others.
"Speaking normally, Outgoing Vox/Comm Channel communication"
"Incoming Vox/Comm Channel communication"
(Internal thoughts)
*Mental/Telepathic commutation*
(?) Unknown language (?)
Chapter 2 Solace and Regret
Thought for the Day.
For every battle honor, a thousand heroes die alone, unsung, and unremembered.
D259 Y059 M42
Segmentum Tempestus
Sector Reductus
Sub-Sector Redacted
System Redacted
Orbiting Some Emperor Forsaken Ice-ball (also Redacted)
Inquisitor Thurmond Hoth
12 hours after planet fall
Inquisitor Thurmond Hoth of the Ordo Malleus (and a member of the Xeno Hybris branch) opened his eyes and took in the scene above him, seeing and recognizing the ceiling of the main medical by of his Firestorm Frigate The Lance of Truth. He sat up with a faint almost nonexistent groan. That was enough for the Almoness Advance on duty to notice his state of awareness and move over to his bed. Sister Shira of the Order of Serenity clad in the usual white ruby trimmed robes of her order, and an almost imperceptible smile in her light green eyes remarked as she approached.
"Inquisitor you do not need to be injured to come and visit." Hoth chuckled at this.
"Sister I would be remiss in my duties if I allowed you to become bored." Then taking a deep breath he asked the question which he would be told the answer to regardless.
"So how bad was it?" Shira's eyes narrowed a fraction as she rattled of the list of injuries.
"6 cracked ribs on your left side, along with a dislocated shoulder, a relatively minor skull fracture, and a surprisingly slight concussion. You were fortunate." Hoth winced at this, both from recounting of his injuries and from a small but sharp lance of pain from his wounded side.
"That bad?" He muttered almost to himself as he tried to remember what had lead to such a list of injuries.
"And without the aid of Knight-Sergeant Galahad, and Lieutenant Fane it would have been much, much worse." Replied Shira crossing her arms.
That did it. Hoth remembered now what had happened, he had been on the planet advancing with his retinue along with two platoons of the Death Korps of Krieg's 123rd toward the front to link up with the regimental command so they could plan a offensive on that blasted ritual the arch enemy's forces were attempting when that treasonous Black Legionnaire had somehow slipped past them. The first warning of his presence was a sickening crunch as the Legionnaire punched one of the Kriegians through a brick wall. Hoth remembered spinning around raising his blessed artificer plasma gun just in time to see the gauntleted hand swinging his way, backhanding him through another wall, tearing his weapon from his grasp, and stunning him. He remembered glaring into the twisted traitorous marine's visor as he took two slow, deliberate steps toward him, ignoring the guardsmen and women around him and raised his fist for a crushing final blow. Then like a bolt of the Emperors own divine wrath the blade of a mighty force glaive cleaved air, blighted power armor, and corrupted space marine in one fell and righteous blow. The traitor collapsed cleaved from shoulder to waist with the old Grey Knight standing behind him, while it was impossible to read the old warriors facial expression through his helmet he was fairly sure it was a grim one.
"My thanks, Knight-Sergeant." Gasped Hoth as he tried to stand, only to fall back as pain lanced across his chest and into his shoulder. Then he felt an arm under his right shoulder helping him stand in spite of the pain coursing like red hot needles through his body. He looked to his right to see Lieutenant Fane supporting him, the man's mood was clearer than the impenetrable mask the Grey Knight always wore even without his helmet.
"Inquisitor are you severely injured? That was a serious blow." The Lieutenant inquired a hint of concern in his voice.
"I will be fine Lieutenant." Looking the man in the eyes knowing full well that if he did not the Lieutenant would advise him to extract. (Especially after what happened to the last commanding officer he had.) Thought the Inquisitor grimly.
Lieutenant Fane looked into the eyes of his current commanding officer and the sighed. The Inquisitors dark blue eyes were out of focus from the looks of his shoulder it seemed to be at least dislocated if not worse. Yet the man was stubborn, dedicated to his duty to both the Imperium and the Emperor and those alone had won him a fair amount of respect from both the men and women he had chosen for his retinue as well as the old Grey-Knight. With a sigh of resignation he did what he knew could earn him the Inquisitors ire but if he did not and the Inquisitor died because of it he would not forgive himself.
"Inquisitor how many fingers am I holding up?" Asked the Lieutenant as he raised his hand with two fingers up a fair distance from the Inquisitors face, Inquisitor Hoth glared into the perpetual's violet eyes.
"Lieutenant Fane we do not have time for this." Stated the Inquisitor with just a hint of annoyance behind his words, that hint had been enough to cower subsector governors in the past. Lieutenant Fane was not by any stretch of the imagination a fool, and he was well aware of the danger in the Inquisitor's tone.
"I know my Lord, however I must insist regardless. How many fingers am I holding up?" The Inquisitor's glare continued for a few moments before he sighed.
(I really wish we did not have to play this game.) Hoth thought. He knew the truth about Darius, one of the first perpetuals, long time companion to the Emperor himself. He had even allowed Hoth read his mind to prove his identity. However despite the fact that Darius severely outranked him, he had insisted on not being treated differently than any other normal member of the retinue. Hoth could respect that, the desire to be normal, after all he had felt a similar feeling when he had learned that he was a psyker and the black ships came for him.
"You have made your point Lieutenant, I see anywhere from two to four." The Grey Knight suddenly spoke his voice stern but not hard or unsympathetic just factual.
"Inquisitor Hoth if you are injured to the point of admitting it then I must insist that you extract and receive treatment. Lieutenant Fane you are here by ordered to escort the Inquisitor to the Thunderhawk for immediate extraction then report back here for further instructions. Take one of the Krieg platoons with you." The old warrior had spoken and no one was willing to attempt to argue with the Grey Knight.
The trek back to the Thunderhawk was uneventful, if a little slow due to the Inquisitor's current condition and despite the Inquisitor's grumbling he allowed himself to be buckled into a seat on the craft and sadly looked out the opening as the ramp closed sealing the Thunderhawk for flight, The whole time he watched the retreating forms of the Kriegian platoon as they headed back toward the rest of the unit and Lieutenant Fane standing at attention, watching him like a well trained hound ensuring he did not attempt to sneak off and rush back into the fray. Inquisitor Hoth suddenly felt sad, not of being unable to see this mission through (that was shear disappointment speaking) but he was suddenly struck with the sense he would never see any of these brave men and women of the Imperium again. With a sigh he leaned back to the most his injuries would allow and closed his eyes.
(Emperor how had this mess spiraled so far out of control?) He mentally asked himself.
He knew of course. The whisper of a Standard Template Construct had all that had been need for the Adeptus Mechanicus to summon their Skitarii legions and march on this blasted ice-ball. Then the whole thing had gone straight to the warp. The first Skitarii legion made planet fall easily enough, quickly tearing into the frozen remain of a long dead city of man. The reports of the city being dated pre Age of Strife sent the Tech-Priests into a frenzy deploying all the Skitarii legions they had had on hand a dozen in total. Day's turned into weeks, and then weeks turned into months, as the Legions scoured the city with a determination which could have put a tyranid hive mind to shame. Then one day a platoon of the Skitarii managed to find and crack open a bunker which had been frozen over for millennia. Inside they found "it" not the STC that they coveted but something far, far more dangerous. The thing they found looked like a Tech-Priest, he sounded off like he was trapped in a sort of memory loop from long isolation. The truth like always was more complicated and much, much worse. The Skitarii platoon had taken it to their base camp believing it was as it appeared, a long lost Tech-Priest. That was their first mistake; their second mistake had been to leave it alone when it requested to be. The "Tech-Priest" had been in fact one of Nomen Ryne's False-Men an unusually intelligent and proactive one at that.
Inquisitor Hoth frowned. Once left to its own devices the False-Man had done something to the nearby Skitarii before the Tech-Priests in orbit had know what was happening, or could even have attempted to counter what was happening the damage had been done. A full third of the Skitarii legions had been corrupted and had turned on the remaining legions. The resulting conflict while mercifully short had been devastating. The corrupted legions had been utterly destroyed, but at a high cost they took a half of the loyal legions with them and had severely depleted the remainder, to the point where they had been folded into a single remaining legion. The Adeptus Mechanicus despite these losses had called the Astra Militarum for assistance in both securing the planet and assisting the remaining legion in locating the coveted relic. Battlefleet Reductus had responded along with the Astra Militarum regiments they had on hand. Originally destined for minor conflicts around the sector, all the regiments had been diverted here. The total might of the Imperial Guard on arrival was mostly comprised of the Death Korps of Krieg twenty-five regiments in total along with a further five regiments of Valhallan Ice Warriors. That combined with the Imperial Navies presence in the system had made the Tech-Priests hopeful despite their losses. However as the wisdom of old states "Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment."
Inquisitor Hoth's frown deepened. (Oh it had looked promising, for a few weeks.) He thought to himself grimly. (Then all hell had broken out across the sector.) His pattern of thought finished itself.
Sector wide Chaos cults of all factions had suddenly roared on mass from the shadows, each and every one of them eager to butcher or worse the innocent in the names for their respective masters. The only saving grace had been the fact that they hated each other just as much as they hated the Emperor and his loyal servants. However instead of cult hunting on the many worlds affected by this madness like many of his brothers and sisters in the Inquisition he and his crew had been sent here with no further explanation other than "It is the Emperors will." Which of course solved everything, and in reality answered absolutely nothing. Not that (Emperor forbid) he had any doubts, far from it he just wish things could be clearer at times. Of course such clarity would make the work of the Inquisition so much easier to the point of making the Inquisition itself irrelevant.
(No, such clarity is the domain of the Ecclesiarchy and their priests. Black and white only works for the fanatical and the blind, not for those who have to walk in the dark to protect the light.) He decided.
(Oh the things those priests thought they knew of the enemies of the Imperium, most of them never having been on the front lines in their lives, never seeing the horrors of the great enemy, never trying to unravel the plots of the Eldar, or combat the eternal ravaging hordes of orks. It was a simple yet ignorant view of the universe that they held but perhaps it was for the best and yet, ignorance is never bliss it is just as dangerous as knowledge in the wrong hands. A lesson he had learned very well.) The jolting of the Thunderhawk at that moment made him grimace not just from the flash of pain it had triggered but the memory his pattern of thought had brought to his mind.
D142 Y047 M42
Segmentum Solar
Sector Solar
Sub-Sector Solar
System Sol
Orbiting Holy Terra
Inquisitorial Victory Class Battleship Fury of the Righteous
"YOU CANNOT BE SEROUS!" Shrieked Inquisitor Marcella at Hoth "You what that THING sanctioned?"
(Here we go again.) Thought Hoth grimly, the same old accusations whenever he did something, no anything remotely unorthodox. He was a heretic, he was trying to taint and subvert the Holy Inquisition from within, and so on and so forth. It would bother him a lot more if they could get just a little more creative with their accusations but no reason to let them know that. However things were starting to get out of hand, AGAIN, the puritans in attendance were whipping themselves into a frenzy, which generally ended with someone, which could be anyone, dead, if the past was anything to go by.
(I probably should interject before Inquisitor Marcella has an aneurysm.) Hoth decided.
Just as Inquisitor Marcella inhaled to continue her tirade Hoth interrupted her, in a tone which simply dripped sarcasm.
"Inquisitor Marcella could you explain to me without your usual series of baseless accusations. Why are you so frightened by this child?" Hoth smiled inwardly as he crossed his arms, when he laid just enough emphasis on the final word to draw attention to the focus of this…discussion. The child in question knelt between Lieutenant Fane and Knight-Sergeant Galahad in chains, following the arguments with her bright emerald green eyes, trying desperately not look mortally afraid, and ultimately failing. Anyone with any Psyker abilities what so ever could feel it, which was sadly for her was most everyone in the room, save for some of the Inquisitors and their agents but if they were aware of her discomfort they showed no sign of caring.
Inquisitor Marcella sputtered momentarily before recovering her composure. "Do not sidetrack this discussion. That thing is an affront to the Imperium and an abomination in the eyes of the emperor!" She declared while she gestured dramatically, getting more than a few shouts of agreement from the puritans in attendance.
Hoth picked up a spike of annoyance from Darius as from the corner of his vision he saw the man look toward the ceiling in exasperation. His actions were fortunately over looked for the time being. However Hoth could not focus on that right now. The puritans were almost at the tipping point.
"Enough talk! This Xeno Hybris heretic has the nerve, to bring an aeldari hybrid freak to HOLY TERRA ITSELF! It once again falls to the true members of the inquisition to do what must be done!" Shouted one of the monodominant's in attendance as he stood to glare at Hoth.
"And yet all we hear you do is talk!" One of the amalathians rebutted to the monodominant who had spoken. The monodominant who had spoken started to turn red with anger.
"I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THIS! AND THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF YOU MOTION HOTH!" He shouted as he drew his sidearm aimed and fired. The roar of the bolt pistol was almost immediately countered by a clear ringing sound as the bolters round collided with a barrier of gold and silver energies which appeared to weave together almost to the point of seeming alive. The bolter round was stuck trying to bore through the energy field which it had collided with, it continued for several moments before its internal fuel supply failed. Yet it did not fall to the chamber floor it remained floating motionless until Darius reached out, through the barrier and simply plucked it gently from the air.
There was silence in the chamber as everyone processed what had just happened. All eyes were on Darius and Galahad as the pair exchanged a look. It became fairly clear that the two had just had a telepathically communicated when Darius nodded, the silver within the barrier vanished to be replaced with a smaller one of gold which covered the hybrid and Darius. Everyone saw the Grey-Knights wrist mounted storm-bolter level at the offending inquisitor and fire. Unlike the hybrid, the monodominant did not have a psy-barrier to prevent a hasty execution. The simultaneous twin cracks of the storm-bolter sent two mass reactive shells slamming into the hapless inquisitor's chest, blasting him backward onto his chair which toppled over with a crash. Galahad slowly lowered his arm allowing it to return to his side.
"Since you have all apparently forgotten why we are here, allow me to remind you." Galahad began his voice while modulated by his helmet was laced with danger. His tone made all the Inquisitors in attendance sit up straight.
"We are here to establish whether or not the hybrid will be sanctioned and allowed to be trained in his service. That is the only reason why we are here. Now Inquisitor Marcella once more, do you have any actual evidence or reasoning to present against the motion?" The Grey-Knight demanded glaring through his helmet at the woman.
"I … No. No I do not." Marcella stammered defeated.
"Then I believe we are done here." Galahad stated in a tone which brooked no arguments. With those words the majority of the attendees took the hint and left as quickly and with as much dignity as possible.
"Well that could have been worse." Darius commented once he was sure everyone not in their little group was out of earshot. Galahad snorted with annoyance, while Darius dismissed the psy-barrier, Hoth gave them both disapproving looks.
"This will not help us in the long run; now get the child to our transport. I want to put as many light years between myself and this place as possible before the next solar day." Hoth stated somewhat sharply.
Darius shrugged before he severed the chains with his sword. "The monodominant's are a serious threat to the Imperium as it stands today. They really think that killing off all the psykers and the astartes will help when we need both. So one less is not a great loss. I'll handle the ceremony; I need to check in with the old man and the archives anyway."
Hoth sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then see it done."
(Yes.) That had been a bad day Hoth reflected. While the hybrid had succeeded in the ritual with no noticeable changes, he had been routinely given the more unpleasant assignments by his superiors.
(Nothing I can do about it now.) He decide as he passed unto a dreamless sleep.
Dragging himself out of his reflections and back into the present, Hoth inquired to Sister Shira. "Am I cleared to leave?"
Shira cocked her head to the side a fraction studying him closely before responding. "Yes. However I must insist that you take it easy for at least a week so your body can finish healing."
Hoth dipped his head in thanks. "Very well, nothing more strenuous than reports, you have my word."
She turn away gesturing toward the door as she did so, Hoth was almost out the door before her parting words reached him. "Do not forget I can confine you to the medical bay if I feel it is necessary Inquisitor."
"Noted sister." He replied in a subdued tone.
Hoth headed toward the bridge of the frigate, passing several crew along the way, nodding at their salutes. Before too long he was facing the set of double doors which would open into the western side of the bridge, he took a deep breath and entered. He looked to the right as he entered and spied Captain Alice Anenya overlooking the bridge. His observations were disrupted by a shout.
"Inquisitor on deck!" An armsman shouted swiftly coming to attention.
"As you were!" He called back before anyone else had a chance to come to attention. He walked over to Captain Anenya, but she acknowledged him before he could speak.
"Inquisitor." She nodded glancing at him.
"Captain. Status report." He nodded back at her.
"The Lance of Truth is at full operational status. As for Battlefleet Reductus it could be better." She said as she handed him a dataslate.
Hoth reviewed the data in silence. Apparently a small chaos fleet had jumped in while he had been unconscious. Battlefleet Reductus had lost more than a few vessels, mostly escorts but several cruisers had either been severely damaged or destroyed, however the heretics had been completely eliminated. Hoth nodded when he finished passing the dataslate back to the captain of his ship.
"What about the situation on the ground?" He pressed.
Captain Anenya sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "The kriegians and valhallans lines managed to hold against the cultist charges but they have taken heavy losses, the skitarii were off doing something when the attack happened, otherwise the imperial guard's losses would have been lighter."
"What!" Hoth almost shouted the word. "They were ordered to assist in fortifying and holding that line. I ordered them to hold that line. Where did they run off to?" He continued as his hands clenched in anger.
Anenya shook her head. "I don't know. I just know what the reports say and that is they never showed."
"Damn them and their obsessions!" Hoth hissed through his teeth, before he took a deep breath and started to calm himself. "I'll deal with them later. Anything else I need to know before I head of to fill out reports?" He inquired still internally seething with anger.
"Just the imperial navy was also forced to bombard the cultist lines, and that Knight-Sergeant Galahad, Lone-Wolf Erik Winterbourne, Blanks Odette and Yorke all made it back little over an hour ago. They're all in your meeting room waiting to debrief." The Captain answered.
Hoth's eyebrows rose slightly but other than that he kept his face blank "Well then, I'd better go debrief them then. Until next time Captain." He said as he turned to leave.
"Inquisitor." Was her only response as she refocused on the goings on in the bridge.
Hoth left the bridge in a hurry. Something had gone drastically wrong planet side, and now he had to unravel what had happened. At least three of his retune were missing that much was plain but how and why? A sense of foreboding came over him when he entered the lift which would take him close to his meeting room.
Several minutes later he arrived before the doors to his meeting room. Typing in his access code, he entered his personal sanctum when he was not conducting business, he would often sit at his desk and watch the stars but now it was all business. He stepped through the door and began observing what was left of his retinue. All he knew was Samael one of his blanks, Gwynira Vylena the hybrid who had fallen into his care, throne was it only twelve years ago, and the perpetual Darius were missing. Galahad and Erik Winterborne were near the window speaking in low voices as they gazed at the stars along with the debris field left by the battle. Yorke had curled up on one of the couches and fallen asleep, while Odette sitting next to him reading one of the books she had brought with her from home. Galahad was the first to notice his presence.
"Inquisitor." The Grey-Knight nodded to him. "It is good to see you well."
At his words Winterborne turned to face him, Odette looked up from her book before closing it and giving Yorke a shake.
Hoth shrugged s he replied. "I'm sure Sister Shira would argue the use of the word well but I am still alive. I assume you're all ready to debrief?" They all nodded. "Then let's start from the point where I entered the thunderhawk and go from there shall we." He said as he took his seat behind his desk. The next several hours passed slowly as each of them in turn gave their own accounts. Of the plan to use a number of moles and termites to get nearly two companies behind the cultist lines to take the battle right to the heart of the chaos forces. Up to the point where they came to the ritual then everything went to hell.
Elisabeth and Isabelle Shepard
April 6th 2183 E.Y. Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Presidium, Human Embassy, 18:30 Earth standard time
Commanders Elisabeth and Isabelle Shepard sat in the reception area of the Human Embassy while humanities ambassador finished a meeting. Anyone getting their first look at the pair would realize that they were practically living reflections of their twin. They however did not have to wait long as Udina's secretary told them they he was ready for them.
"Commanders thank you for coming so quickly." Ambassador Donnel Udina greeted Elisabeth and Isabelle as they entered his office.
"Good evening ambassador." Isabelle replied.
"Ambassador." Elisabeth answered somewhat more sharply.
No one really liked interacting with Udina, his reputation as a snake and his obsession with his personal image was well known within the Alliance. In other words he was a politician through and through but he was a necessary evil on the Citadel.
"What do the two of you know about the Normandy project?" Udina asked them suddenly catching them off guard; he was almost never this direct. They shared a glance before Isabelle answered for the pair.
"Nothing concrete, just rumors of a joint project with the turian navy, to create some sort of stealth ship." Udina nodded at this before replying.
"Your new assignments, you will be serving under Captain David Anderson." Was all he said before sending them both a file and allowing them to brose the documents contents. The documents were fairly straight forward; they were assigned to the newly launched SSV-Normandy SR1 for its shake down run to Eden Prime.
"You will report for duty at 06:00 earth standard tomorrow." Udina finished.
"When will she be arriving? We like to move right in, get a feel for the ship and its crew before we begin." Elisabeth explained.
Udina nodded. "Very well, the Normandy will arrive in a little over an hour from now. I will make sure you have clearance to be in the bay when it arrives. You're dismissed Commanders." He said making it clear that they were done.
Elisabeth and Isabelle wasted no time in leaving his office, as they headed for the door to the Presidium they noticed Shaman Knight standing by the door apparently waiting for them.
"Shaman Knight what do we owe the pleasure?" Elisabeth inquired as they walked up.
"Nothing, I'm simply here to wish you luck on your assignment, and to remind you that no one is ever as they appear." The old shaman stated before bidding them both a good evening and walking back to his office.
"Well that was unusual." Isabelle remarked as they watched the man leave.
"You know what they say sis that shamans see more than most people understand." Elisabeth shrugged before continuing. "Come on we have around forty five minutes before we need to head for the docking bay."
Alliance Docks, 19:45 Earth standard time
Elisabeth and Isabelle were watching as a sleek somewhat large frigate class vessel entered the dock they had been standing in for just under half an hour. Grabbing their respective duffle bags they headed toward the docks boarding ramp which had just finished connecting with the ships airlock. As they approached a section of the ship's hull slid upward to reveal the airlock. Once they were close enough, they synced their omni-tools with the ship allowing its VI to review their credentials, once that had finished the airlock opened with a hiss allowing them into the decontamination chamber. They waited for several moments as the decontamination process went through its programming before allowing them into the ship proper.
Stepping out of the airlock with the ships VI informing the crew of their presence on deck, they stopped and begin taking in the bridge and the CIC down the hall. Seeing a man with a Captains insignia to their left while making a note to speak to the pilot later they headed for the CIC, before they could speak their Captain spoke first.
"You two still don't waste any time do you?" Anderson said as he turned to face them, smiling slightly.
"Commanders Elisabeth, and Isabelle Shepard reporting for duty. Sir!" They said in unison while saluting with a smile.
"At ease. It's good to see the pair of you again. Are you two still bunking together?" Anderson asked. They nodded in response, before he continued. "That's what I thought; XO's quarters are on the crew deck on the left from the elevator. Take your time settling in. Dismissed." He said before returning to the datapad in his hand.
With that the twins headed for the lift and pressed the button for the crew deck. Thirty seconds later they exited and headed for their quarters. The XO's quarters was not a large room, it was somewhat larger than a standard crew cabin but not by much.
"Well it's not much but it looks like home." Elisabeth noted as she tossed her duffle on one of the bunks.
Isabelle nodded as she replied. "We can meet the crew tomorrow let's just get settled in tonight." Before setting her own duffle on the other bunk and starting to unpack.
Lieutenant Darius Fane
2 hours after planet fall
Darius watched the Thunderhawk roar off into the atmosphere for a good minute before turning toward the passage which they had passed through, but before he could pass the threshold he felt a foreboding feeling press upon him. He sighed inwardly as his hand started seeking one of the pouches at the back of his belt; he knew this feeling as almost on its own accord his hand pulled forth what appeared to be a deck of cards. Subconsciously he started to shuffle the deck, still walking forward, when he got a free moment, he switched to a private channel and contacted the Grey-Knight. "Galahad I need a word."
The Grey-Knight's response was instantaneous. "Is something wrong Lieutenant?" He inquired with some concern.
"Perhaps, the deck is acting up." Darius answered as the deck started to shuffle itself.
"I'll be there momentarily." Came Galahad's response before he cut the line.
Darius settled down taking over shuffling the deck as he waited on the old Grey-Knight. He quite liked the Knight-Sergeant; to the point where he had revealed his identity to him. Galahad was an anomaly among the Grey-Knight orders willing to do his duty to protect the Imperium, but unwilling to cross that very fine line which separated the Imperium and the antics of the great enemy. Darius grimaced slightly; reports of squads of Grey-Knights turning on their allies after defeating a demon were disturbingly frequent, to the point where more and more Imperial commanders silently doubted accepting aid from the reclusive order.
(Not that they could refuse.) He thought as he shook his head still shuffling the deck. There is a lot wrong with the Imperium and not all of them were external problem's either. He sighed as his thoughts continued along this path. The high lords were constantly incompetent. The Inquisition seemed to do whatever it pleased at times. The fate of the Celestial Lions was a clear abuse of their power. Sector and planetary governors kept forgetting that their actions had consequences, often leading them to make dubious choices, which more often than not ended in rebellions on their worlds. Then those rebellions had to be put down with the idiots responsible for the problem in the first place still in charge The Mechanicus were simply too afraid to be innovative, or hell share what knowledge they had which could help the Imperium on uncountable levels. That train of thought brought him to how this whole mess had started in the first place.
(If there is a pristine STC here, I have to secure it; because it may never see the light of day otherwise.) He sighed again. He hated getting into fights with the Adeptus Mechanicus. Sure he could maintain most weapons and armor used in the modern Imperium without a tech-priest looking over his shoulder, but still parts did wear out or break eventually. When they did you generally couldn't simply jury-rig a replacement, too much could go wrong with that sort of maintenance. Darius was so engrossed in his personal reflections that he failed to hear the Grey-Knight approach.
Knight-Sergeant Galahad looked at the man who sat before him, seemingly lost in thought shuffling a deck of cards, and sighed into his helmet before removing it. Setting the piece of wargear into the crook of his arm he called to the perpetual. "Darius."
Darius snapped back to reality at the sound of his name, before looking in the direction of the voice which had said it. Violet eyes met silver grey for a moment before he voiced his response. "Galahad. Sorry to drag you back here."
The Grey-Knight snorted. "I am willing to bet you have a reason especially since you're handling that relic." He stated flatly gesturing toward the deck.
"It does have a mind of its own doesn't it?" Darius mused as the deck started to shuffle itself again.
"Let's get on with this." Galahad said simply as he knelt down by Darius, but before either of them could lay hands on the deck it began to lay out cards on its own. They waited while the deck laid out six cards before it stopped moving. Darius and Galahad shared a look.
"Well it's never done that before." Darius noted.
"Let's see what the cards say then." Galahad replied.
Darius nodded as he moved to start flipping the cards. The first card was The Lightning Tower followed by The Crone, The High Priest, The Pilgrim all inverted, the next card was The Silver Door, and the final card was The Emperor.
"A long journey from which there is no return, possibly through the warp." Galahad surmised recognizing most of the sequence. "Yet I have never heard of The Emperor being drawn in this pattern before."
"Nether have I. I wonder who is going and where." Darius muttered as he studied the cards.
"Perhaps you? It is your deck." Galahad pointed out looking up from the cards.
Darius shook his head in response. "I doubt it. Readings are almost never that specific."
The muffled sound of an explosion and the faint shaking of the tunnel brought both of them back to reality. "We need to get moving the others are waiting for us. All the readings in the Imperium will not help us if we don't live through today." Galahad pointed out.
"You read my mind." Darius stated as he swept up the cards before tucking the deck into one of his back belt pouches. "Let's go."
Elisabeth and Isabelle Shepard
April 7th 2183 E.Y. Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Normandy crew deck, XO's quarters, 00:00 Earth standard time, Joint Dreamscape
Elisabeth and Isabelle Shepard were not unaccustomed to being within each other's dreams especially when they shared quarters on deployment. Tonight's dream however was closer to a nightmare.
It was bitter cold, like being trapped in a blizzard, they were both unarmed and in their standard issue uniforms which did not help. Within the howling wind they thought they could faintly hear voices in the distance but whose and what they were saying was lost to them. Looking around they spied a hill top with what appeared to be a fire on it, one swift look to their respective twin, one joint nod of agreement, and they set forth toward it. The fire was warm but lacking of any sign of who had lit it, the twins settled down, and began to get life back into their chilled limbs. However the fire was starting to dim, they would need to get back on the move soon, to soon.
Spotting what looked like a cliff face some distance away, they headed toward it. Soon reaching the wall of what turned out to be a massive glacier, they managed to spot what looked like a door set into the side near to them. The door opened surprisingly easily despite the conditions it was currently being exposed to, with a hesitant glance to each other they entered, shutting the door behind them leaving the howling blizzard to vent it's fury against the face of an uncaring glacier.
It was still cold but without the biting winds it was not as bad as the outside had been, the passage they found themselves in was poorly lit at best, outright dark at worst. The pair began to head down the hallway passing several doors on either side all of which resisted their attempts to get them open. As they continued to check the doors trying to find something to save off the cold which was eating into their bones, one of the doors on the left side finally opened. The twins stacked up to enter, quietly and carefully, they passed through the door and into what looked like a barracks. Rows upon rows of cots stretched out straight ahead and to their right, however they noticed the light of a fire at the far end of the room.
A small area had been cleared to accommodate the merrily burning fire with several figures clustered around it. The pair approached with caution catching the sounds of a conversation occurring around the fire. They moved to cover eavesdropping on the figures and were surprised to realize they could understand them.
"Corporal toss me another bottle." Said a female voice with a Russian accent.
"Yes Sergeant!" Replied a second female sounding voice this time with a German accent.
"Corporal. Our war is over for now you can relax. Just a little." Stated a male Russian voice with a sigh.
"Yes Lieutenant." Answered the German with a more subdued tone. "The Commissar won't like it though."
"What's he going to do? Shoot us again?" Laughed the Sergeant.
"Keep up that insubordination Sergeant, and I just might try." Responded a new, somewhat muffled, male voice with an American accent and just a touch of humor. "Corporal a bottle, if you please."
"Yes Commissar." The German replied once more.
The sounds of people drinking came from the cleared barracks space. The twins looked at each other in confusion. Commissars? Shot again? Before they could ponder further a voice spoke again. It was the latest speaker.
"Aren't you two cold? Come and warm yourselves by the fire." Realizing that they were being addressed and that they were indeed cold. They moved around the cover that they had been eavesdropping behind into the circle of cots.
The four men and women they found themselves looking at looked like they had all stepped straight out of military history. One of the women was wearing a uniform which would not have been out of place in the trenches of the First World War while two of the others were wearing what looked like red army winter gear from the Second World War. The last person was the most strangely dressed wearing an (admittedly) impressive overcoat and hat, over a strange uniform. The colors which this person favored were also odd, solid black with gold trim and a red sash wrapped around his waist. He along with the soldier who appeared to be from the trenches of World War One both had gas-masks at their sides on the floor.
The man who had addressed them eyed them strangely as he gave an order. "Lieutenant, see if you can scrounge up a couple of great coats for our guests."
The other man nodded, got up and headed beyond the circle of cots, while the corporal handed them bottles. The twins settled down and tasted what they had been given. It tasted sort of like weak beer not unpleasant just a little bland. The all drank in silence until the sounds of the Lieutenant returning reached their ears. As the Lieutenant returned into the ring passing each of them a heavy coat similar to the one he was wearing, the Commissar spoke again.
"You know I fancy myself quite knowledgeable about the various uniforms used by the Imperium but I just can't place yours. It almost looks like a naval uniform but is significantly less ornamented than normal and the symbol it bears is strange. So where are the pair of you from?" He inquired.
Pulling on the coats they had been given Isabelle replied for the pair. "I'm Isabelle Shepard, this is my twin sister Elisabeth we both hold the rank of Commander within the Earth Systems Alliance." She explained. Their hosts shared a look.
"Never heard of it." The Commissar replied shaking his head.
"Just as we have never heard of this Imperium that you speak of." Responded Elisabeth.
"Well what year do you think it is?" The corporal chimed in. "Ma'am." She quickly added catching a glare from one of the officers.
"It's twenty one, eighty three. Why what year do you think it is?" Isabelle replied. The response from the others was blank shock, well save for the Lieutenant who had had the bad luck of taking a swig from his drink at that moment, and ended up inadvertently inhaling most of it. To his credit he didn't spew it across the gathering, while the Commissar was thumping the man's back to help him clear his airway the Sergeant responded.
"For us the year is fifty nine of the forty second millennia." Stated the Sergeant in a subdued voice. She inhaled deeply before posing another question. "So what is it like where, no when, you're from?"
"I'm not sure what you're asking?" Elisabeth answered eyeing the Sergeant.
"My guess." Wheezed the Lieutenant. "Is she is asking about everything and everything. What is day to day like, are you at war and if so with who or what? That sort of thing." He when back to clearing his airway as the Commissar gave him another thump.
Elisabeth and Isabelle looked at each other and shrugged before jointly launching into the fairly brief history of the Alliance. The discovery of the prothean ruins on Mars, the discovery of the mass relays, the brief unprovoked first contact war between the fledgling Alliance navy and the "renegade" Admiral Asako Dhamgodah of the batarian hegemony, first contact with the Citadel Council followed several decades later by the opening of an embassy on the station.
"You mean to tell us you're not at war with anyone right now? That sounds nice actually." The Corporal muttered as she took another drink.
"Not even the ones who blatantly attacked you?" The Sergeant on the other hand was furious.
"You should have destroyed them." The commissar added while he watched the Lieutenant to ensure he did not start chocking again.
"Not really any point of arguing about this however. We need to get going." The Lieutenant noted.
"Going where?" Isabelle asked as their hosts stood and began to gather their gear.
"Our final destination. You should not linger here." The Corporal said as they began to walk to the nearest door.
"Hey wait what do you-" Elisabeth started trying to get some answers, but they were gone, the door had opened before them and they had vanished. The only sound was the faint crackle of the fire which was quickly drowned out by a sudden howl of frigid wind which brought the flames down to embers.
"I guess we had better keep moving." Isabelle commented as the embers grew cold before their eyes. Moving to the opened door they entered the hallway they had left previously. Looking to the left they saw a faint golden light glowing from around the corner.
"This has got to be the weirdest dream we have ever had." Elisabeth muttered as they headed toward the light. Rounding the corner they came face to face with a glowing orb of light which simply floated in the center of the hallway.
"How about we don't touch weird glowing objects." Elisabeth said as she pulled her sister back from the object. They turned to head back the way they had came but the hallway was inexplicably blocked.
"This is becoming annoying." Isabelle sighed realizing that their only way forward was through the object.
"Well here goes nothing." Elisabeth muttered as they both reached out toward the glowing orb. It emitted a flash of light the instant they both made contact.
Lieutenant Darius Fane
6 hours after planet fall
The rumbling of the cliff wall in a small canyon was the first and only warning a legionnaire of the black legion had before a termite burst from the cliff face, slamming into the front of his armor, caving it in, and pinning him to the opposing wall slaying him instantly. Several moments afterward the hatches of the termite opened.
"And that ladies and gentlemen is what we call a dynamic entry!" Darius exclaimed as he jumped out of the subterrene, swiftly followed by the kriegian platoon.
"All right everyone spread out and dig in! The other termites and the moles should be here shortly. We hold until they get here, then we push forward. Clear!" He ordered.
"Sir! Yes sir!" The platoon responded before starting to look for the best spots to hunker down. In short order the rest of the imperial forces arrived. Once they had finished disembarking Darius began issuing orders.
"Ok everyone listen up. I want fourth, fifth, and sixth platoons to dig in here. Hold this area at all costs. The rest of you listen closely, our objective is a ritual site two clicks from here. Our orders are to blow the site, and drop a cliff on it. Any questions? No? Good. Move out!" Little over an hour later they made contact with a small but well fortified outpost of traitors and heretics. Their foes were well entrenched but fortunately for the imperials they also had plenty of cover. Las and autogun fire went back and forth between the groups several imperials were felled in the crossfire. Worse however was the fact that this whole process was costing them time, that they did not have. With a snort of annoyance Darius began to dig into his belt pouches before finding the one he wanted.
"Everyone down! Labyrinth going out!" Darius shouted over the commotion as he pulled out the cube like object and heaved it toward the cultist lines. The imperial forces heard the thud, followed by an animalistic roar, then a whole lot of panicked gunfire and screaming.
Those who had the nerve peaked out from their cover to see a tyranid tyrant guard doing what it did best, soaking up weapons fire, and being a living battering ram. The rabid creature was content to tear into anything it could get its claws on as it slammed into a mass of cultists sending them flying and breaking their lines.
Galahad glared at Darius through his helmet. "You were using a labyrinth to contain that thing?" He asked incredulously.
Erik was somewhat less serious. "Aren't you supposed to say something when you do that?" As he tried hard to suppress his laughter.
Darius glared at the Space Wolf. "No…" The rest of Darius's response was cut off by a scream from a cultist.
"AUGH MY SPLEEN!" Followed by a sickeningly wet ripping sound. Several guardsman and women were forced to duck as a mass of flesh and organs was heaved their direction. Gwynira spoke up then having looked over her cover.
"It looks like they are breaking." She stated in a low voice.
"What about the tyrant guard?" Samael asked in a voice barely over a whisper.
"It's following them." Gwynira replied.
"Where?" One of the kriegians asked.
"Looks like they are heading away from our chosen route." She answered.
"Good." Erik replied. "Then we can get a move on, these heretics and their masters will not wait for us." No one argued his reasoning.
It took them another hour to get to the site, hidden in a depression in the landscape, fairly safe from direct artillery strikes and yet close enough to the frontlines to be of use. They managed to crest the hill overlooking the portal and ritual that powered it, which the heretics were using to draw forth the blood gods minions. They were just too late. As they watched a chaos champion clad in the armor of the black legion rose into the air.
"Well frak…" Darius muttered before shouting to the soldiers. "COVER!"
No one questioned the order men and women hit the frozen ground like rain as the champion reached the pinnacle and was slammed into the ground with enough force to turn him into a geyser of blood. A moment of horrified silence was followed by an unholy roar as a massive demon tore its way into reality. Followed shortly after by a shout from the ritual site. "YOU FOOLS!"
Darius, Erik, and Galahad shared a confused glance before creeping as well as they could to get to the top of the hill to take a look. The greater demon was about fifteen meters in height laying into cultists and lesser demons alike with pure fury, slaughtering everything in sight. That was not what really attracted their attention however. What they notice was what this demon was lacking, it's wings.
"Is that…" Erik began.
"Yes, and I wish it was not." Galahad replied.
"We're going to need a lot more guns, bigger ones to." Darius noted as the Bloodthirster seized a cultist, squeezed him for everything he was worth, and batted the desiccated corpse over the ridgeline with its axe.
"Ok what's the plan? Because I don't think the three of us put together can weaken that thing enough to kill it and it's in the way." Yorke commented having joined them at the hill top.
"Is nonstop orbital bombardment an option?" Odette asked as the demon cleaved a chaos predator in half.
"Maybe we could…" Samael began before he was cut off by a second roar this time from the depths of the portal.
"SKARRBRAAAAAANNDD!" Roared a demonic voice from within the depths portal, as a second demon erupted into reality. Darius's helmet made a resounding thud as he slammed it into the ground.
"TWO OF THEM? We're going to need to blow the planet at this rate." Darius sighed in exasperation.
The new demon which stood only around ten meters snarled at the first one in its own tongue. The first demon now identified as Skarbrand snarled back at the smaller Bloodthirster as the two began to circle each seeking an opening in their opponent's defenses. Then something changed Skarbrand performed a charging swing at its opponent which the smaller Bloodthirster appeared to barely block, but the smaller demon used its opponent's momentum to send it over its shoulder and slam it to the ground making large cracks in the ice shelf. Before it could take advantage of its opponents state Skarbrand swung its axe at the smaller Bloodthirster's ankles forcing it to leap back across the area, ready to begin their deadly dance again.
It looked to the Imperials that they may be here for a while as the two demons prepared to clash again, however fate had other ideas. As the smaller demon prepared to spring it instead roared in pain falling onto one knee as it glared swiftly toward its ankle. Everyone who could follow its gaze looked to see a tyrant guard defiantly latched onto the demons ankle, the smaller Bloodthirster's attention was only off the fight for an instant, but that was enough. Skarbrand roared in triumph as he leaped across to his foe and swung. The demons axe caught the smaller Bloodthirster in the neck cleaving down into its torso as a fountain of demonic ichor burst out from the stricken demon. As the smaller demon went limp Skarbrand placed one of his feet against his foe's torso and pulled, ripping the weapon free in a shower of black, sending the carcass sprawling as warp fire began to consume it. Skarbrand once more roared his victory to the skies, before the sounds of artillery nearby sent him storming off toward the cultist lines, with the scorched and rabid tyrant guard in hot pursuit.
The Imperials had several moments of stunned silence before Darius and Galahad roused them.
"Not the time for daydreaming, we got work to do!" The Grey-Knight called as he stood.
"I want all the demo packs we got!" Darius called as he got up.
"Galahad, catch!" He said to the Grey-Knight as he tossed him a cube like object from one of his belt pouches. The Grey-Knight caught the heavy cube and realizing the perpetuals intentions rushed toward the stricken demon with the three blanks at his side. Once he was close enough he threw the device at the demons vanishing form. Whether or not the demon knew the danger of the device flying toward it is unknown. What everyone at that site knew in that instant was its fear. The demon emitted a dreadful roar of anger and despair as the cube unfolded and began to suck the creature into its depths. The demon continued to roar as its claws dug into the ice sheet trying in vain to save itself, it left great scours in the ice as it was inexorably pulled to its doom. The demons defiance lasted less than a minute before it was pulled into the labyrinths event horizon, which closed shut with a definitive snap, before falling to the ground with a heavy thud.
"One more for the Emperor!" Some of the guardsmen cheered as Darius set about planting charges to not only destroy the portal but to bring the cliff face down over the whole area.
Galahad smiled into his helmet as he stooped to pick up the device. "Never again will you plague mankind demon." He muttered to the cube before storing it in his belt.
"I'll focus on the area around the portal, rest of you I want as much of this area wired as you can manage." Darius ordered the engineers. It took around an hour to get the charges set properly to be able to level the area.
"Lieutenant the charges are set we need to clear the blast zone." One of the kriegian engineers informed Darius who nodded before calling to the remains of their force.
"All right you lot. You heard the lady clear the blast zone!" With that order the Imperials beat a hasty retreat up to their original overlook. While a small number stayed to ensure the destruction of the site the rest headed back to their transports.
"Well time for the fireworks." Samael stated as Winterborne handled the detonator.
The Space Wolf grinned before shouting one word. "CONTACT!"
The well placed explosives worked beautifully, blasting the heretical monuments to dust, shattering the portals mortal exterior, before burying the lot with tons of ice and snow.
"Well we're done here. Let's get back to base. When we do drinks are on me, just don't try to out drink Erik." Darius called as they began to leave, receiving some cheers and a grumble from the Space Wolf.
"Doesn't mean they can't try!" The Space Wolf retorted to some laughter from the guardsmen.
Despite the uplifted mood of the guardsmen Darius was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that something was wrong, and he was not alone in that feeling. Almost as one Darius, Galahad, and Gwynira turned toward the buried portal, only to see a maelstrom of colors begin to leak from beneath the snow. To their horror the light was spreading. Fast.
"RUN!" Galahad shouted to the imperial forces still in the area, as he seized Yorke and took off with him despite the man's protests. Erik heeding the Grey-Knights order took off, picking up Odette as he rushed past her. The four of them ended up well ahead of Darius, Gwynira, Samael and a small group of guardsmen.
The guardsmen were the first they lost, a large section of the ice simply dropped suddenly as the warp energies tore through a series of caverns in the ice seeking the quickest route to the surface. The unfortunate men and women barely had time to shout their alarm before they were gone. Sixteen souls lost instantly, and even worse for Darius, Gwynira, and Samael their most direct route to the transports was shattered.
Gwynira and Samael started to dash to the right shortly before Darius caught up to them just in time for a small chunk of ice to break free, right under Gwynira's foot. Gwynira gave a startled shout as she unbalance and began to fall, but Samael was able to catch her arm before she fell out of reach. Darius rushed toward to try to help the pair but was just too slow. An ominous rumble emerged from the ice as another section splintered off with an echoing crack, sending the hybrid and the blank plunging into the abyss. Darius swore as he reached the edge trying to catch a glimpse of the pair. He saw no sign of either of them. He cursed again as the ice shelf shuddered again nearly unbalancing him, before breaking into a dead run around the rim of the rapidly failing terrain. It looked like he might make it before an artillery shell perhaps guided by fate, or more likely Tzeentch crashed into the failing ice shelf and detonated the concussive force knocking him flat. Darius shook himself as he tried to stand only for a surge of warp energy to cause the section of ice he was on to finally give up the ghost, and begin to tilt rapidly toward the unstable portal.
"Well frak…" Darius muttered as the ice refused his attempts at a handhold sending him hurtling down into the maelstrom.
(This is going to hurt.) Was the last though that entered his mind before he hit the portal and lost consciousness.
Elisabeth and Isabelle Shepard
Suddenly they found themselves on a cliff overlooking a snow covered trench line. Across an open field of snow and ice men charged, cavalry counter charged this carnage was over shadowed by the roar of artillery guns from both sides. From their hill top perch the saw a large red humanoid run a man through with a sword which appeared to be made out of fire. The man's enraged comrades bore the creature down and bludgeoned it with rifle butts or stabbed it with bayonets, only to move one once the creature had stopped thrashing.
"Dreadful isn't." A male voice behind them said. They spun around in shock to find themselves looking at a massive humanoid figure clad in golden armor. "Thousands of men and women fighting and dying in the name of a god who never wanted that title." The figure spoke as he moved alongside them and knelt at the cliffs edge overlooking the field of battle.
Elisabeth was the first to regain her voice as she spoke. "Who are you and what is this place?"
"Who am I?" The figure mused as his eyes seemed to look into the distance. "To tell you the truth I no longer know. As for this place? This is a crossroads of sorts. A meeting point between your unconscious dreams and a grim reality. This battle?" He said as he gestured at the field below them. "Is happening as we speak."
"How did we come to this place then?" Isabelle inquired as a loud explosion from a cannon shook the cliff they stood on.
"I don't know. I suspect the clown had something to do with it." The man shrugged. "He does that sometimes, maybe that he wants you to learn something or he had nothing to do with this. It's hard to tell with him. No matter you will be leaving shortly." He finished.
"We aren't going to remember this are we?" Elisabeth realized.
"Nope." The figure said with a hint of a warm smile on his lips. "Wake Elisabeth and Isabelle Shepard, for you both have a long road ahead of you."
April 7th 2183 E.Y. Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Normandy crew deck, XO's quarters, 05:59 Earth standard time
Elisabeth and Isabelle bolted awake unsure of what had caused each other to wake so suddenly only for their alarms on their omni-tools to inform them that it was now six AM.
Inquisitor Thurmond Hoth
Hoth closed his eyes and sighed. This was bad.
"Unless there is anything else you are all dismissed. I have a lot of paperwork to do." He sighed as his office began to empty. "Is there something you wish to add Galahad?" He inquired since the Grey-Knight had not moved to leave.
"Only that you should not blame yourself. He knew his fate and I will vouch for that fact if this comes to a trial." Galahad stated.
"Noted Knight-Sergeant. Tell Captain Anenya to set course for Terra." After the Grey-Knight departed Hoth reached under his desk for a small bottle of a clear amber colored liquid and measured himself out a small amount. Picking up the glass he took a sip with a sigh.
"Frak it all…"
D? Y? M?
Segmentum ERROR
Sector ERROR
Sub-Sector ERROR
System ERROR
Planet ERROR
Lieutenant Darius Fane
Conscious slowly returned to Darius. Slowly (and painfully) he levered himself off the ground and onto his knees, steadily taking in the planet now before him. It was clearly a garden world and judging by the fact his body was not currently demanding he put on his emergency re-breather most likely with an acceptable atmosphere. Not that meant anything as he reached for it regardless, after all just because the air seemed breathable did not mean it was safe. With the re-breather now firmly on his face he sighed inwardly.
(I really wish the Tech-Priests had figured out why the air reservoirs in these things always smelled like old socks. Now where is my damn helmet?) Scanning the area he spotted the wandering piece of war-gear, around 20 feet away. How it had come off in the first place was a different problem but still less important than the question of where he now currently was. Rising to his feet he moved to his helmet as he did he checked the auspex on his left vambrace.
(Ok the air is fairly standard little higher in the oxygen than Terra. No biological contaminates found…) He read off the small screen, before removing the re-breather and storing it. He stooped to pick up his helmet and he examined it as he did. There was no severe damage that he could see, mostly scratches and a couple of minor dents. Once he had finished he removed the face plate and set the helmet on his head.
"Now let's see." He muttered as he activated the scanner on his auspex unit and began looking for imperial locator beacons. The screen flashed ERROR at him before he gave it a light smack.
"Come on. I know you work." He hissed before the device registered a beacon around two hundred meters from his location. The identification code was that of the imperial inquisition specifically the Ordo Malleus. Darius wasted no time in moving out toward the beacon but he was not carless, he hoped that Gwynira and Samael had survived but he had no proof that they had or were even here. Wherever here was.
It took less than half an hour for him to get within thirty feet of the beacon. He spotted Gwynira and Samael in a heap and gave a sigh of relief, before approaching further. They looked fine if a little tangled from their landing, Darius smiled slightly Samael still had his grip on Gwynira's arm. As he set about separating the pair he winced slightly, while Gwynira was flexible he was fairly sure her arm was not supposed to bend that way. His attempts to separate the pair caused him to awaken Gwynira. She hissed with pain from her right arm which was at the very least broken. As she sat up she attempted to remove her helmet with less success than if she was able to use both of her hands, but she managed it. Once it was off she took a deep breath of air.
"Darius?" She asked recognizing him.
He nodded. "I am glad to see you are mostly unharmed but I need to splint your arm." He said as he looked at the injured limb.
She nodded. "Alright but do you know where we are?" she asked in her slightly musical voice.
"No I don't I know this is not the warp but beyond that I have no idea." He sighed as he dug out his medical kit and began to fabricate a splint. "Now keep that arm still. I need to check on Samael."
While Gwynira tried to get her bearings Darius focused on the still unconscious blank the man had no clear injuries but he was nonresponsive for the moment. "Maybe being pulled through the wa-" He began to muse but was interrupted by a sudden clap of thunder and a loud thud being him.
"Frakking hell what now." He hissed as he leaped up, drawing his shotgun, while Gwynira jumped upright.
A large blue armored figure with silver trim had appeared less than twenty feet behind them and had crashed face first into the earth leaving a small crater. Sharing a look the pair slowly advanced on the figure.
Gwynira swallowed slowly as she studied it. "What is he? He looks like an Astartes but…"
The man groaned as he started to push himself up right. Darius only needed one glace at the distinctive helmet with its mirrored shades like visor to know what he was looking at.
"Thunder Warrior…" Darius whispered almost under his breath, before he turned back to her.
"Gwynira I'll handle this, keep an eye on Samael." He ordered as he gestured toward the unconscious blank. She nodded as she backed away from the ancient warrior.
Chronometer error detected…
Connection to network lost…
File download incomplete…
Downloaded data corrupted…
Clarifying…
Error…
Resetting…
Activating secondary power systems…
Beginning primary diagnostic…
Authors Note two
Originally Solace and Regret was going to be the first chapter but I felt it needed context.
First things first
Review responses
Guest 3: Thanks!
PopularFallacy: I'm Glad you have enjoyed what I have posted so far!
Just Interested: No real reason.
Guest 2: Glad to hear you like it but I may have to start cutting down the chapter lengths 10K seems to be too much for me right now.
Sonic: Thanks!
RandomReader: I know, I let it go through because s/he was not verbally abusive.
Guest 1: I don't really know what your game is? You seem to post these things a lot.
Business
I'll work on a proper Codex for Darius later.
Darius
You have no idea how long I have been grappling with what the frak Darius's official rank within the Imperium would be. (To be completely honest I still am.) People who have met/know/are on first name terms with a man who is revered as a god by trillions of humans would have a very impressive official rank, enough titles to fill several books of very fine print, among other things. This makes handling him in any sort of official imperial capacity a pain to even imagine, and that's when he is not dragged out for tales of the old days. Yes he does know and emphasize with Bjorn the Fell Handed in such situations.
Darius as a Psyker
I don't want Darius to be extremely powerful in what he can do I want him to be as balanced as possible given his condition as a perpetual. (Let's face it Gary/Mary Sue's are boring to read about.) If we're are measuring human psyker's as fire, Emps is a roaring bonfire, the various psyker primarch's were campfires, Malcador is a small campfire, Darius along with most of the other original perpetual's were embers (same applies to grey knights and most space marine librarians) with Darius being on the smaller end of the scale, while most human psykers are little more than sparks. So in a nutshell he is a Gamma/Delta level psyker. I am hoping this in general explains the limited range of psyker abilities he can manifest.
