Speculum Enigmate Chapter 25
"Genestealers? You're sure it's really Genestealers?" Persion asked with a note of scepticism. The Lieutenant was on the surface, standing in a vacated timber warehouse. The place was piled high with untreated beams of wood, filling the air with the scents of sap and shavings while red light poured in through a skylight. Persion had returned from the depths and signalled for a rendezvous and the warehouse had been the first convenient location he had found, so he had promptly chucked out the workers and owners. Their feeble protests dying on their lips when a blood-splattered Space Marine loomed over them.
Persion's amour had been chipped and scored by battles in the depths, and his proud colours were stained with enemy blood. He carried his Friction Axe in hand, its single blade glowing warmly as it burned off the remains of the foes he had slain. His Space Marines had been ambushed in the sewer network, beset by waves of filthy scum who charged them with no regard for their own lives. It hadn't mattered though, the Intercessors of Sergeant Yones' squad had decimated them with precision crossfires while Persion dismembered any who got too close. After breaking out of the ambush they had scoured the area, only to find ever more enemies closing in. These they had slaughtered too, until finally none had remained then they had returned to the surface.
Persion looked around at the gathering, seeing the others impatiently waiting. Sergeant Zeax glared frostily, his Devastators had been ambushed too and had exhausted an awful lot of their ammunition in a sustained firefight. That was nothing though to the report of Memnos, who had turned up burned and battered after laying waste to the Genic Council. Most surprisingly of all was Jediah, who had lost a Reiver in the depths but gained an Inquisitor and her retinue, along with that useless heir who sat rocking back and forth muttering to himself, lost in some nightmarish memory. Persion didn't care what the boy did, so long as he was quiet about it.
Sergeant Gotram spoke up, "We are certain. I've seen the Purestrains up close, we are facing a Genestealer cult."
Yones shook his head and said, "We saw plenty of mutants but we didn't see any signs of Genestealers."
Yet Memnos affirmed, "I have seen their breeding grounds and felt the power of their psychic touch. There can be no question that they are Genestealers."
It was a shocking revelation but Zeax muttered, "I don't believe this, you're exaggerating the threat."
From the back of the room the Eldar sneered, "Blind Mon-Keigh, open your eyes and see what is right in front of you!"
Everybody bristled at the Xenos daring to address them and Jediah growled, "That's it, I'm cutting out his tongue."
Yet Yones rolled his eyes and countered, "Don't threaten the alien for being right."
Jediah glared at him as he hissed, "He who tolerates the alien, shares the guilt for its crime of existing."
Yones snapped, "This isn't the time to quote scriptures. We have bigger problems than one lone alien, we face a full-blown infestation."
There was a snort of derision from Zeax, "You believe this nonsense?"
"I do," Yones replied confidently, "The Great Devourer is insidious, only one creature can start an infection that will corrupt an entire population."
Zeax sneered, "If so they must have been here for centuries, growing in number and taint. You really think they could pass unnoticed for that long?"
Persion noticed Memnos staring at him and the Apothecary inclined his head to prompt the Lieutenant to intervene. Persion belatedly realised this was degenerating into an argument and he was supposed to be keeping them focused. He spoke up, "Cease your bickering, Memnos says there are Genestealers on Pascum, that's good enough for me. The question is: what are we going to do about them?"
Voices quieted but Yones thoughtfully rubbed his chin and asked, "What sort of threat are we facing, is the whole planet infected?"
Memnos answered him, "Not from what I saw, the Genic Council was hiding their corruption behind sterile walls and humdrum activity. They were breeding their tainted spawn in secret, while keeping up their regular duties in public. I doubt they have tainted the majority of the population. I suspect they would try to seize power before attempting such a feat."
Inquisitor Vevara broke her silence to muse, "That is not their typical Modus Operandi. Genestealer cults tend to grow in the shadows, building in numbers until they feel the call of the Tyranid Hive Fleets. When the Bioships approach they rise up and attack the defences, creating bedlam behind the lines at the worst possible moment."
Persion swallowed in apprehension as he fretted, "Do we suspect a Hive Fleet is closing?"
Zeax replied, "I doubt it, we shattered their Splinter Fleet at Angle's Redoubt and the Imperial Navy has been busy running down stragglers for years. If a sizeable fleet were closing, we'd know about it."
Persion chewed his lip as he mused, "Perhaps a lone Bioship was wandering by the stellar system, enough to trigger the cult, but pass unnoticed."
From the back of the room the Eldar declared, "If you relent from cutting out my tongue I will tell you why they move today."
Persion glared but Yones said, "Go on, we won't shoot you… this time."
Safe for a moment the Eldar explained, "My race sees the turn of the galaxy and the start and end of time. The Rhanda Dandra began with the Great Rift your kind unwittingly opened. The baleful energies of the Ruinous Powers spill forth in torrents, stirring up many sleeping scorpions. The call rings forth to all who can hear. A Psychic Awakening sweeps across the galaxy. These corrupt creatures probably don't know it but their Broodmind will have been stoked to a frenzy by the touch of Chaos. A call to disorder they instinctively follow."
Persion rubbed his forehead and groaned, "It hardly matters why this is happening, all that matters is that they have revealed themselves. So, what are we going to do about it?"
Zeax spoke first, "I say we take off and level the entire city from orbit."
Memnos glared at him and spat, "Kill innocent civilians?!"
Zeax scoffed, "One little city, weighed against billions on the planet. Kill them all and let the Emperor sort out the innocent from the corrupted."
Memnos snapped, "We don't kill innocents."
Heads nodded but Gotram muttered, "I'm not so sure about that."
Persion didn't know what he was so miserable about but declared, "Captain Toran would never condone such an act, he'd demand we stay and fight the enemy."
It was a bold statement but Jediah hissed, "Toran's not here and doing things his way will get us killed."
Persion glared at his Brother but Vevara cut them off, "It wouldn't work, these spawn lurk deep underground and you brought a frigate, not a Battlebarge. You'd need repeated Magma-bomb salvos to burn them out. Besides, you assume they are concentrated in one city but we have no proof of that, they could have spread their seed across the globe. We need to root them out of hiding and uncover how far they have roamed."
Persion sighed, "We haven't the numbers, we are thirty Brothers against Emperor knows how many foes."
Yones cocked his head and said, "I've got an idea: send an Astropathic message to Tectum. The Indomitus Crusade has thousands of Primaris Marines at hand. Send the word and ten thousand Primaris Marines will come, armed and ready for a fight."
Persion was relieved to hear it and said, "Good idea, but it will take several weeks for them to get here. In the meantime we can't let the enemy run free, we must seize the initiative."
Yet Zeax pointed out reluctantly, "We're low on ammo."
Persion replied, "I'll contact our ship in orbit and request a resupply drop."
That drew looks of relief but Jediah questioned, "What about the Governor, her troops would be useful."
"If they haven't been turned," Memnos argued, "Her right-hand man was working for the cult."
Vevara countered, "I doubt Aleys Bassail would be part of this. Odrin was working to undermine her from the start, killing her guards and kidnapping her heir. In my experience if the Governor themselves isn't the origin of the Heresy, they're usually the first target of any rebellion. Aleys and her whole household will be marked for death. Probably why she's got her Citadel in lockdown."
"Damnation," Zeax muttered, "We have two tanks and their drivers locked inside, we could have used the firepower."
"Can we get them out?" Gotram asked.
Vevara shook her head, "I can return her heir, I know someone who can smuggle small items in and out. But they'd never open the gates to let tanks out."
"Not even for an Inquisitor?" Persion needled.
Vevara grimaced as she admitted, "An Inquisitorial Rosette opens many doors, but tis a poor shield against a barrage of lasrifles. I'm no good to you dead."
Persion sighed in exasperation as he said, "So be it, we'll bypass her and go straight to the PDF, with their soldiers…"
He was cut off as a distant explosion rang out. Heads snapped about as the echoes rumbled through the warehouse. Persion's genhanced hearing let him discern it had been a sizeable explosion, one that would rip through the city, but it wasn't close by. A heartbeat later another rang out, then another and another and another. Instantly Persion was moving, racing to the warehouse door followed by the rest of the gathering. Outside smoke and flames were rising into the red sky, blocking out the morning light with a shawl of sooty ash and settling upon the vertical column of the Monument to Reunification. Screams and cries of pain filled the air, mixed with panicked cries and alarm as the civilians realised a tragedy was unfolding. The detonations had gone off across the city, tearing through the outer regions and Persion's mental map placed them at key Imperial positions, centres of authority and symbols of Terra's rule. Persion knew the sight would send the people into a mad panic, filling their weak hearts with fear and terror. In minutes these streets would be filled with stampeding hordes of people fleeing in all directions and impeding any efforts to confront whoever had set off those charges.
Gotram pointed at one column of smoke, "That's coming from the Cathedral."
Jediah pointed at another, "That one is the Arbites Precinct."
Yones was looking about in confusion, "What's happening?"
Persion fitted his helm and declared, "We moved too slow, the cult isn't willing to wait for us to get ready. They're seizing the initiative and attacking today."
Vevara wasted not a moment to declare, "I have to move, I need to get to my contacts."
"Go," Persion replied, "The rest of you come with, we'll move to link up with the PDF and get ready to meet whatever's coming. Move your arses; there's a bloody war on!"
