Gambler 6

04/24/2021

For more than a Hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. His is the Master of Mankind by the Will of the Gods and Master of a Million Worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is the rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium, for whom a thousand souls die every day, for whom blood is drunk and flesh is eaten.

Human blood and Human flesh-The stuff of which the Imperium is made.

To be alive in such times is to be one amongst untold trillions and trillions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable; this is a tale of those times.

Sergeant Kilgor had taken up a position in the rear of marching column. Despite the lack of reference points he could tell by his stride the party had covered about seven kilometers along the tracks before they turned off. He would never have spotted the door they took into another corridor. They then walked another kilometer down with the lights on and lights off again as they progressed. He had spent the entire time during the walk trying to come up with ways to make sure the strange xenos did not leave this place alive. He would like to include the Ork and the Traitor Human in his death plan, but since he could not come up with a way to get any of them at the moment. He just did not know how the Necron Cryptek was planning on sending them back to where they belonged. Besides if they meet any Tyranids they would need them.

He looked around and caught a glance at Lieutenant Saylor. She seemed to notice him and looked back from her position at the front of column. She flashed him a quick "hold in place" combat sign. Sergeant Kilgor took that to mean she had not come up with anything either. Well they would just have to play it by ear and lasgun when they got the chance to give them the Emperor's Justice.

Cryptek Feneku suddenly stopped in front of a dark space. Here the lights ahead just did not come on. The Necron reached out with his staff and pointed it into the darkness ahead. After a moment, a green glowing circle appeared. It then spread out into a green glowing archway approximately five meters high and ten meters wide. Sergeant Kilgor could not tell if it had opened up or appeared in front of the group. The Necron led the way in followed by the others one at a time.

When Sergeant Kilgor entered the new area he found it unlike anything he had seen before. Instead of the normal overhead lighting they had in the rest of the complex, there were no lights from above. Instead the walls had large numbers lines of light going giving off light. They looked like a circuit board and gave off a glow in alternating green and gold. They gave off enough illumination to see by. There was a large pedestal control in the center of the room that had the same green and gold lines going up on it. Here they ended in glowing circles on the angled top of the console.

The only other thing in the room was hard for Sergeant Kilgor's mind to grasp. Opposite the entry archway was a glowing panel that was not attached to anything just coming up from the floor. From his position by the entry archway he could see the other archway from an angle. As best he could tell the glowing panel was the same five meters high and ten meters wide as the entry archway, but this panel had no depth to it at all. From the back of his mind new names bubbled up again that he had not known before seeing the archway. Dolmen Gate was what this was called, and he also knew this would be their way home.

Cryptek Feneku moved toward the console and while doing so said, "I will need a few minutes to drop the barriers and allow reinforcements to arrive. There are a small group of the Tyranids moving toward this location that you will need to hold off until our assistance arrives."

Lieutenant Saylor said, "How long until your reinforcements arrive?"

Cryptek Feneku arrived in front of the console. He started to press the glowing lights and some areas on the console that started to glow when he did. He turned his head back around at an angle that no Human could match and said, "That I cannot tell. Once the barrier is lowered, contact will need to be made. They will respond as fast as they can, that is for sure."

Lieutenant Saylor went into command mode and immediately gave out some orders, she said, "Listen peop ah group. we have one door to guard so form a firing line immediately behind the Necron, Thulk you on the far left, Wompta on the far right. Sergeant you and traitor on either side of me."

She did not know what to do with the strange xenos or if it would even obey an order from her so had not said anything to it. It did not seem to matter as the strange xenos moved over and took a position behind and in-between the four Humans. Everyone else took their positions without question and then the nervous wait started.

Sergeant Kilgor saw how she had placed the traitor and xenos in a position so they could be taken care of quickly. He glanced at her and she gave him a "be ready" hand signal. His reply was to take the safety strap off his Catachan Fang. He had no qualms about killing the Ork. The xenos had been helpful but his race needed to be eradicated from the galaxy, so he was willing to kill him quickly. It was the least he deserved as a reward for his actions.

He changed his glance to Pech Torerra. Here he was torn. She had betrayed the Emperor and deserved to die for it, but she had also done her duty here. If he had been put in a similar situation would he have done the same? Was he doing the same by helping the Necron save his base from the Tyranids?

Except for the living beings' breathing and the slight interaction the Cryptek was having with the console it was deathly quiet. This is what allowed Sergeant Kilgor to hear a clicking sound. He raised his lasgun and aimed at the entry archway. Something was coming their way and it was moving fast.

He said, "Be ready we..."

Sergeant Kilgor did not get a chance to finish his warning before a purple blur came through the entry archway. He squeezed his trigger three times trying to track the purple blur. He was not sure if he hit it but did hear the others firing. Then the purple blur slammed into him flattening him to the ground and crushing him with its weight.

He caught his breath and then took another. Since he was still capable of breathing he figured the purple blur must be dead. With a mighty shove he pushed the purple carcass off. He then raised himself up to see the purple carcass had been a Genestealer. Still not sure who had killed it he looked around and saw Pech Torerra aiming her pistol at him.

After a moment she lowered it and said, "Tau technology, it let me see it coming and track it. Once in range, I killed it."

Getting back on his feet, Sergeant Kilgor mumbled, "Thank you." Then he prepared for the next one. He knew more would be coming. Genestealers worked in packs when with the Tyranids. Sure enough almost immediately he heard more clicking sounds. A great many more clicking sounds.

He opened his mouth to ask Cryptek Feneku how much longer. The Necron beat him to it and said, "The barrier has been taken down. Now to send the signal."

Before Sergeant Kilgor could change his words to ask about the signal there was a flash of light followed by him screaming in intense pain. His screams were lost in among the screams of the rest of his group as all of them collapsed to the ground. Deep under the pain he realized the Cryptek had activated the submission devices and was betraying them.

On the ground he found he could not move. He had twisted around in pain and landed on his back. This gave him a full view of the horrors that followed. Cryptek Feneku's staff was dimming but still shown enough for him to see the strange xenos standing unaffected by light. Like whips from a Commissar, a dozen tentacles shot out from strange xenos. Each punctured a limb on one of the collapsed and petrified group. Blood started to flow freely from each of the wounds as the tentacles returned back to the strange xenos.

Cryptek Feneku stood passively and said, "The signal has now been sent. Our reinforcements should be here shortly. Hopefully before the Genestealers tear you apart, so I can keep my promise to send you home."

As he finished, Sergeant Kilgor heard the clicking of numerous Genestealers approaching. They had slowed their pace either because they were wary of the light from the staff or because it had stunned them too. With great effort he could move his eyeballs enough to take in the others. Each of them, Human, Traitor and Ork were on the ground and bleeding from a couple places.

While his muscles did not work well his sense of smell did. There had not been any real odors in the Necron complex other than the other members of his party. Now there was an overwhelming and vile smell of decay, of the most rotten flesh left to bake in the sun stench that had ever filled his nostrils. Then a walking dead person came into his view.

Only there was something wrong with this person. More wrong than it being a dead person walking. The eyes were glowing for one. They glowed in the same color as the green on the walls. Then there were the hands. Each finger ended in a half meter long talon made of razor-sharp metal. The living dead stood over him for a moment and Sergeant Kilgor knew his life was over.

Then another much less bright pulse of light came from the Cryptek's staff and the living dead moved on. In another second he heard the sounds of hand to hand or more accurately talon to talon fighting going on. It was impossible to tell who was winning.

Cryptek Feneku broke into his worries and said, "With the barrier down and your blood as a signal, 10,000 Flayed Ones have responded. With some coordination between them and the already revived warriors we will have the Tyranids eradicated in three point seven days."

With a few arm motions some Necrons of a new type appeared in the room. They were huge insectile robots that moved on multiple arms and legs. They each picked up one of the petrified party members and carried them toward the two-dimensional panel.

Cryptek Feneku said, "Now to fulfill my promise to all of you, for Necrons are the most honorable of all the races. That is why we shall retake the galaxy from you in the next few millennia. Don't not try to move until the devices self-destruct once you are clear."

Sergeant Kilgor and the others were lifted off the ground and carried to the Dolmen Gate. There was a brief pause as each member of the party was carried through and then the Wraiths returned without them. Sergeant Kilgor strained to move any of his muscles. Whatever they had hit him with he still could not overcome. Helpless as a newborn babe but even more incapable of movement he could only wait for his turn to be carried through the gate.

The Strange Xenos was the last one through the Dolmen Gate. It did not have to be carried through as was part of the deal for its cooperation. It did not regret any of what it had done for it was finally able to return to its home world and its comrades. After stepping through the Dolmen Gate it was struck by the air. It did not smell odors like Humans but felt them. These felt wrong.

It climbed to the top of a hill and took in the surroundings. In the valley below it took in a series of structures and road networks laid out in straight patterns. This was not the place it had left. Its race did not need such things. Quickly it came to the conclusion those called Humans had come to its planet. It was not sure if there were any of its nxi left but that did not matter. It would remove those in the structures first then go and look for any members of its race.

Thulk found himself in a very deep part of the Underhive. The Wraith who had dropped him off had healed his wounds but not left him anything to eat or drink. Still this was his world, and he knew how to find those things down here. During his search he found something else that brought a bigger smile to his face. Orlock gang markings. He was only about 70 percent sure what they meant but knew he could follow them to where people were. Even if he had to kill those people before finding his own people.

Pech Torerra had found herself on the planet she had left. The sensors in her suit confirmed the air mix as being the one she was supposed to have. After only a few hours of marching she came across a road. She started to follow it. Soon enough a convoy of vehicles appeared behind her.

She could make out they were military grav trucks and moving quickly. She moved to the side of the road and started flagging them down. As the first, second and third grav trucks flew past her she tried to step into the road and waved her arms more frantically. Still the grav trucks just maneuvered around her and kept on going.

When all the grav trucks had gone past her she sat down on the road in despair. Then she heard a sound that gave her some hope. Looking up she saw the last of the grav trucks in the line had stopped and turned around and was heading back to her. She stood up and waited for them to arrive.

The grav truck stopped about one hundred meters from her. She watched as four figures in armor similar to hers embarked from the truck and began to approach her with weapons drawn and aimed straight at her. Thinking there had to be a reasonable explanation for this she remained still and waited for them to approach her.

When they were within five meters they had spread out in a half circle around her. One of them then said, "Slowly remove your helmet."

Complying with the order she raised her right hand and undid the straps. As soon as they saw her skin the four of them lowered their weapons. Three of them immediately headed back to the grav truck. The one who had spoken to her before waited until she had removed her helmet and then took off his.

Once his helmet was off he said to her, "Sorry but ever since the Tau turned on us we can't take any chances. Load up and we will try and get you back to your unit."

Pech Torerra was stunned for a moment. The Tau had turned on them? She had a great many questions and began to wonder what kind of world she had returned too."

Wompta the Mek Boy had been dumped off and the Wraith returned through the Dolmen Gate before he had bounced a second time off the ground. Orks did not have a good sense of rudeness so he did not take any offense at the treatment they gave him. He stood up and heard beautiful music just over the next rise. Rushing up the small hill, his eyes went wide as he saw a battle being fought.

There were Orkz on both sides riding on war bikes, riding in war buggies and lots of trukks armed to the teeth. If he could have cried he would have. Instead he dodged as a buggy chased a trike up the small hill. The trike rider tried to turn and misjudged the maneuver causing him to flip over and be thrown from the trike.

The buggy was going too fast to stop and drove straight into the fallen trike. It flipped itself nose over tailpipe. Landing with a loud crash and the misfiring of a couple its weapons. Wompta picked himself up off the ground and ran over to the wrecks. The two Ork buggy crew members were both dead The Trike rider was alive and only missing a few chunks of flesh. He limbed over to where Wompta stood.

The trike rider said, "NOOOOO, my trike is smashed. It wassa da fastest ever."

Wompta looked the situation over and then pulled out his favorite wrench and said, "Give me five minutes and a hand and I canna have da buggy running again."

The former trike rider stuck out his bloody hand and said, "Deal."

Wompta shook on the deal and then got to work. He thought to himself, "It's good to be back in the scraps."

Sergeant Kilgor sat at the table next to Lieutenant Saylor. Both of their hands were secured in thick chain shackles that were bolted to the surface of the heavy metal table. In the three days since they had been brought in by the Death Corps of Krieg Guardsmen who had found them in the No-Man's land of the current battle they had not been allowed to leave the table. All of their personal needs having to be taken care of here.

Not that they had much of a chance to take care of any personal business. They had been interrogated by an ever increasing in rank series of Imperial Guard Officers and Commissars. Each of them asking the same questions as to who they were really and how they got to where they had been found. Some of the questioners had not been gentle or subtle about what would happen to them if they lied or if they did not start telling the truth.

At the moment they were alone in the room but neither took the chance of saying anything. Both assumed there were listening and watching devices in the room with them. Those on the other end were just waiting for them to say or do something so they could convict and execute them for good reason. Instead of just executing them as a matter of normal procedure.

A new figure walked into the room. He wore a simple black outfit that looked to be made to blend into the background of any situation then stand out. He wore a cap, but his red hair stuck out in neat, organized places. He sat down in one of the metal chairs opposite them without saying a word and just looked them in the eyes.

Sergeant Kilgor looked him back in the eyes and found it hard to do. At first he fought the man had simple brown eyes but the more he looked the more not only the color of his eyes changed but the shape. They started Human and then went to cat and then to hawk and then to something not formally native to Holy Terra.

After a few moments of this it was Lieutenant Saylor who spoke first. She said, "You are not with the military or the Administratum so you must either believe us or are our executioner."

The man opened his mouth and the high-pitched voice that came out did not match the muscular frame the man carried. He said, "I would first like to give you two some answers before I ask you any questions."

Sergeant Kilgor spoke this time and said, "That would be better than we have been treated so far."

The man looked at each again and then said, "You have both stated you escaped from a xenos race called the Necron after helping them defeat the Tyranids on their planet. The Necron you call Feneku promised to return you to the planet you came from. To the best my people could find in the records that is exactly what this xenos did."

The pair looked at each other and then Lieutenant Saylor said, "This place looks nothing like where what I remember of the place I served before."

Sergeant Kilgor added and said, "What I saw was a blasted wasteland, Catachans are jungle specialists."

The man did not hesitate and said, "You are both correct. Since the Great Rift opened this planet has been under siege by Chaos forces for 100 years. They have not held back on using certain weapons which have decimated the environment here. Then again both of you have been away longer than you think."

Since it was obvious he wanted them to ask, they both said, "How long?"

The man looked at Lieutenant Saylor first and said, "I have found you in the Imperial Archives listed as Missing in Action. Lieutenant Melissa Saylor you have been missing for 512 years Imperial."

He then looked over at Sergeant Saylor and said, "You, I could not find but I will take it you are Sergeant Shaw Kilgor of the Catachan 445 from your tattoos. Sergeant the last Catachan unit to serve on this planet was 1,987 years ago Imperial. But you might be from another unit from further back in time."

If the man expected shock from the pair then he did not get it. Instead both looked to be relieved. He took that as a good sign that they had figured out some of this on their own. This was the sign he had been looking for.

He reached into a pocket hidden in his shirt and pulled out a small amulet in the shape of a stylized column. He held it up so both of them could see it. They both gave a show of recognizing an Inquisitorial Rosette.

Sergeant Kilgor said, "Should have known only an Inquisitor would believe the story we told."

At this the Inquisitor chuckled and then said, "Yes, well most Imperial citizens have not even heard of the Necrons so would not believe you at that alone. Lucky for you two I was in the area."

Lieutenant Saylor was too exhausted to carry on a cheerful banter and said, "So are you going to order us executed. It's not like we can rejoin our units or even go home."

The Inquisitor hid a small wince at her comment. She did not know about Cadia, so she had only meant Imperial Authorities would not let them out amongst the populace. Yes, she was sharp.

He answered and said, "No Lieutenant, I have come here to offer you both positions on my staff. You both come with resumes very few others can match, and I need. So will you take my offer, or should I leave you here for the Astra Militarum to decide what to do with you?"

They looked at each other again and then back at the Inquisitor. Lieutenant Saylor answered for them and said, "If you put it that way we both gladly accept your offer."

The Inquisitor reached forward and began to undo their shackles. As he did so he said, "Very good. Welcome to the Inquisition and to the Ordos Kronos."