Early 36th Millennium, dawn of the Plague of Unbelief
Orbit over Abalus
Arvus Lighter
The Arvus Lighter containing Sirsay, Draegoth, and Gideon climbed high into the sky, dodging sporadic fire, before finally entering orbit and settling into an approach which would lead it to Bellerophon's Fist, Masina's strike cruiser. Though the trek was short, time crept by for the three occupants of the Lighter before it finally neared the Fist.
At least there is only one seat and the two psykers do not have to share the cabin with me, Gideon laughed to himself. He looked at his augurs and did a double-take. So many 'hits' around the Fist. It's like the void is lit up or something. He went step by step through the litanies of operation. Same results. "Something's going on outside," he said over his shoulder.
"Outside?" Sirsay incredulously asked.
"Explain yourself," Draegoth snapped.
"Either my augur readings are mistaken or the Fist is orbiting within a debris cloud," Gideon answered. Normies are always snapping at me, Gideon said to himself. But none of them are as bad as psykers.
"I told you to run through the litanies before take-off," Sirsay snapped. Gideon grimaced in response.
"The void most likely is full of debris," Draegoth interjected. "One of the many defensive capabilities the Fist possesses is a flak cloud, but it's only useful for when in a set orbit," he added. "The scattered debris makes it virtually impossible for targeting augurs to lock onto the vessel, not to mention that it diffuses laser fire." Dreagoth paused, then asked, "Can you fly through it to the Fist?"
"I can do it," Gideon answered. "I just don't know what I'm going to say when they decline my approach. That's what they're going to do, isn't it?"
"Patch the vox in my helmet into your comms," Sirsay said.
"Will do," Gideon answered and immediately made the adjustments. He then began to maneuver the Lighter through the debris field. Just as he exited the field and began his approach to the Fist, his augurs lit up. "They're locking onto us," Gideon said. "You better say something fast or we're dead."
"This is Lighter LSP-038," she said. "We have a parcel shipment for transfer to Bellerophon's Fist."
"Negative," answered a voice. "All transfers canceled. Turn around or you will be terminated."
"My parcel manuscript says this shipment is a wardrobe supplement for Provost Chele Masina," Sirsay answered. "She has always been very demanding with respect to that aspect of her position. We'll turn around but the records will show you turned us around."
There was a moment of silence on the other end. "You are cleared to enter the port landing bay," the voice finally answered.
Draegoth and Gideon simultaneously laughed in response.
They're still locked on to me, Gideon realized. No mistakes, he nervously told himself. As the Lighter approached the Fist's port landing bay, a change from the augur caught Gideon's attention. "We got a bogey," he snapped. "Something just accelerated out of the debris field and is on a path to impact near the bay."
"Don't worry," Draegoth said. "That's forceful back-up. Just pilot us in."
Forceful back-up? Gideon asked in his head. His augurs told him that the Fist had dropped the Lighter from its targeting locks and fired at the bogey without destroying it. As the Lighter approached the great open blast door that guarded the landing bay the bogey impacted with the side of the Fist. That forceful back-up was short-lived, Gideon told himself with a grimace.
The external blast door to the bay closed behind the Lighter as it cruised in and came to a stop. Gideon glanced out his foreward viewing port to see the landing bay. It was well-lit, but transport sleds and open crates cluttered the deck. Masina does not run as tight a ship as the other Inquisitors, he told himself. Heck, the Void clans run a tighter ship. This bay looks like a glorified version of some of the pirates that docked over Tanais. A half-dozen individuals came running from a crew house toward the Lighter while dragging three transport sleds behind them. Two Inquisitorial Stormtroopers followed them half-way, lasrifles in hand, and stopped. Gideon looked back over his shoulder at Draegoth. "Now what?" he asked.
"We watch…and wait," Draegoth answered. Gideon grimaced at the Inquisitor's answer and Sirsay laughed in response. Annoyed, he turned back to the fore viewing port.
As the half-dozen bay workers reached the Lighter, the two Troopers glanced at each other, then turned around and ran off toward a far exit passage. Something's happening, Gideon realized and glanced back again to see Draegoth smiling at him and Sirsay standing next to the disembarking ramp holding an object in her hand. It was a golden trinket in the shape of the High Gothic numeral "I" with three bars crossing its middle. Her Inquisitorial Rosette, Gideon quickly recognized. I pity those men caught between Masina's instructions and Sirsay's presence. He activated the ramp and it began to lower.
Sirsay began walking down the ramp while it was still opening. She stepped off it and onto the landing bay's deck just as the ramp made contact and stopped. The half-dozen deck crew stopped cold in their tracks, their transport sleds lightly colliding with each pair before stopping.
"What is the meaning of this?" one man snapped while the others grumbled.
"Silence," Sirsay snapped and the men obliged. "We are here on official business of the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition with authority granted personally by the God-Emperor of Mankind." The men remained quiet. "Remain here and tell no one what you saw."
The men simply nodded.
Sirsay looked back over her shoulder at Draegoth and Gideon. "We must hurry," she snapped and then ran away from the Lighter with Draegoth quickly following.
Damn, Gideon snapped to himself while quickly unfastening the harness holding him in place. I better get moving. He ran down the ramp and past the still standing bay workers.
Sirsay was already three quarters of the way toward the exit the Troopers had fled toward with Draegoth half-way behind her but Gideon quickly closed the gaps separating him from them. The sound of lasblasts from the far exit filled his ears followed by the deep rumble of an explosion. In a couple moments he had caught up to Draegoth who was only a short distance behind the Astropath. The sound of rapid lasfire became even more intense.
Gideon could see into the passage where it turned left immediately after leaving the bay. And he saw a Trooper fly backward into that corner and land in a crumpled heap. The second trooper backed up into view, exposing his profile to Gideon's sight. A moment later, the sound of a boltgun being fired filled his ears and the Trooper's head exploded, followed by his torso collapsing to the ground. An instant later a new figure filled the corner and Gideon's gaze, standing overtop the two Trooper corpses, a giant in blue power armour, bolt pistol in one hand and force staff in the other. Ansgar, the last Librarian of the Void Spectres.
"Forceful back-up has arrived," Draegoth laughed.
"We must move, and fast," said the vox amplified voice of the Librarian. "There is an entire regiment of Troopers onboard. Where to?"
"The Choir Chambers," Sirsay said. "Gideon, bring up the rear so as to not interfere with my ability to grasp the Warp. I will seek the path," she added, then pointed back down the passageway from which Ansgar had approached. The Librarian quickly turned round and led the way.
Gideon quickly closed the distance to the corner and turned it. Draegoth was beyond him and Sirsay beyond Draegoth. And beyond them Ansgar slammed the end of his staff into the bulkhead…through a Trooper's helmet, and he didn't stop. Ansgar ripped the staff's end out of the bulkhead and swept it around knocking the lasrifle out of a second Trooper's hands, before bringing it overtop and crushing a third Trooper's helmet. It all happened so fast Gideon almost didn't see Ansgar's knee simultaneously crush the torso of the disarmed second Trooper. Gideon leapt over the corpses and pooling blood as he and the two Inquisitors in front of him tried to keep up with the marine running down the hall.