Umbram Ignis Chapter 24

Under the artificial sky of the great dome fire and death reigned as squads of Astartes launched a blitzkrieg raid. They ran in staggered waves into the teeth of enemy fire as las rounds and shotgun pellets pattered harmlessly off their armour. Their target was a slab sided tower that loomed over the slums with brutal mass and cast unforgiving shadows over all who stood before it. The building was a symbol of the implacability of imperial justice, for it was the Arbites garrison fortress, but today judgement was being brought down upon it.

The Storm Heralds had fallen upon the Imperial bastion with fury in their hearts, as they sought out the heretic hiding within. The Arbites stood bravely but the Space Marines had their target and nothing would stand between them and the Traitorous First Marshall Maximillian. Perhaps if the Arbites had been able to utilise their heavy weapon emplacements then they could have held their line for a time, but the wall guns sat silent and their vehicles had been sealed within their garages unable to deploy. The Space Marines had not questioned this stroke of good fortune; they had merely exploited it to the full and stormed the walls then driven the blank helmed judges before them in an avalanche of fiery retribution.

Captain Toran was leading his command squad higher and higher up the tower as he sought out their target. His blade was wet with the blood of Arbites and his fury was growing with every man he slew. Perhaps not all those who opposed them were truly corrupt, perhaps they had merely been following orders, but they had still made the mistake of standing of the way of the Emperor's wroth and for that crime there could be no mercy.

As they climbed another flight of steps Toran was communicating on the vox, "Lorath, report."

A voice came back briskly, "Landing pad secured and all vultures disabled."

Toran stated, "Hold your position, the heretic must not escape that way. Zeax what's your situation?"

A different voice returned, "The Arbites tried to mass for a counter attack up the tower but our Heavy Bolters put a short, sharp stop to that."

Toran ordered, "Keep the lower level secured, nothing must interfere while we, Priyar and Mylos sweep the base for the heretic. What of Imix and the Smoke Jaguars?"

Persion answered him, for the communication specialist had been tasked with liaising between the disparate Chapters, "They keep dropping off the grid but I am intercepting reports of monsters appearing from nowhere in the outer barracks, no doubt our cousins are keeping themselves busy."

Toran nodded as he reflected on how stunned they had been when Imix had brought word of the identity of the heretic. Persion had been most vocal in his reckoning that it would be one of the heads of the mining guilds, so it had been deeply shocking that an Imperial officer could consort with Xenos and every one of the Astartes was outraged by the betrayal. As they advanced the squad was on a hair trigger, ready with weapons poised to strike at the slightest target and their usual camaraderie was absent, driven out by their ire and now they were in battle their focus was on prosecuting their duties.

As they reached the top of the stairs a hidden figure leapt out,already swinging a shock maul but he was no match for an Astartes. Novak effortlessly blocked the blow with his combat shield and struck back so fast his arm seemed to blur as he struck the head off the Arbiter. The body fell to ground in a spray of blood, revealing an ornate door behind and Novak bounded forwards, his armoured bulk smashing the door to kindling as he dived within. For once this was not bravado on his part, as Company Champion it was his sacred duty to confront enemy warlords head on and always be first into danger.

Everybody tensed, expecting the sounds of combat but there was only silence, the squad approached and entered with bolt pistols raised to find themselves within a large but plain chamber, bereft of decorations or accolades. The room was furnished sparsely and was dominated by a large desk, made of functional plasteel not precious Nalwood as was customary for many high ranking Imperials. Sitting at the desk were three bodies, one in rich robes and another with dirty coveralls, these two were reclined backwards with their features slackened by death and smoking craters on their foreheads attested to the las blasts that had ended their lives.

Sitting across from them was the third person and this one was still alive, First Marshall Maximillian sitting forlornly with his head bowed and his hands flat on the desk. There was a red hot las pistol between his hands but he made no move towards it and the Astartes could easily gun him down if he so much as twitched. Toran waved the squad back a pace and stepped forwards declaring, "First Marshall you are accused of treason and consorting with vile Xenos. Your guilt has been proven beyond doubt and we are here to enact justice upon you."

Maxmillian did not look up at his executioners but said, "My men, did they resist?"

Toran nodded and declared, "They did fight back… briefly."

Maxmillian sighed dejectedly, "I told them to stand down, as soon as I realised you were coming for me, but they didn't understand. Even when I shut down the perimeter guns they wouldn't listen."

Toran said, "You confess your crimes. You admit to consorting with Xenos, you were the one who sent them to kill us and faked orders to the PDF, you sent the Dark Eldar to assassinate the Governor!"

Maxmillian breathed for a second and then said, "I did it for the Imperium."

Furion started forwards angrily and barked, "How dare you impugn the Imperium, the Emperor would never sanction any of this!"

Maximillian shook his head and said, "It had to be done, I need you to understand that it had to be done. Eight years ago some of the abandoned mines collapsed, several hydroponic farms were destroyed and the rest couldn't support the population, we were facing mass starvation."

"So that's it?" snarled Novak, "You sold out your species for food?"

Maximillian looked up at last and a hint of defiance returned to his eye as he said, "Have you ever seen a famine, because I have and let me tell you it's never the criminals who starve. Those who prey upon the weak and innocent take what they want and leave the rest to suffer, but that's just the start. If word got out then we would have faced mass riots and looting, panic and hysteria as people fought over scraps and the collapse our whole society!"

"So you decided to act," growled Toran.

Maximillian stared at them and said, "The only option was to reduce the population, but that coward of a Governor didn't have the stones to give the order, so I sent a signal to Athra J'rect offering him our worst scum and villains. I sent my Arbites to round up those that contributed nothing and only take. I told them it was just routine cleansings of the sink-slums and they obeyed without question."

"And your co-conspirators?" asked Toran.

Maximillian gestured at the cooling bodies and said, "This one thought he could usurp Ricko Dumman as head of the mining guilds, if the Eldar limited their raids to the other clans and this one, well we paid him handsomely for his gang's muscle. As soon as they heard you had returned they came running to me, begging me to take them off-world but I told them a man should stand by his deeds and take the consequences… they didn't like that and went for their guns but I was faster."

"So you regret nothing?" barked Furion angrily, "You do not repent your deeds?!"

Maximillian snorted and said, "The Imperium charged me with keeping law and order in this pit and that's what I did. I thought upon the numbers every day that passed and I found that I had sold two million of the worst scum into slavery and saved ten million innocents. Nobody ever wants to know what it takes to enforce the law, but they all want to live under its protection."

Toran looked down in disgust upon the unrepentant First Marshall saying, "And what does Imperial Law dictate as to the fate of heretics, traitors and consorters with Xeno?"

Maxmillian lip drew out into a wry smile and he nodded in acceptance, then with a half dozen bolters pointed at him he reached slowly into a drawer and withdrew a dataslate. He tossed it onto the surface of his desk saying, "You will need this, Athra J'rect thinks I don't know about this but he is not half as smart as he thinks he is… I would wish you luck but I am sure you won't need it."

Then as everyone watched he declared, "I stand guilty of heresy in the first degree and by writ of imperial law the sentence is death." Maxmillian's hand jerked towards his laspistol and he snatched it up, the Space Marines watched him do it, for their reaction times were so fast that they could have blown him to bits before his finger would have tightened on the trigger, yet they did not need to do so. With the eyes of the Emperor's Angels upon him First Marshall Maximillian jammed his laspistol into his mouth and pulled the trigger, blasting a searing beam of energy into his head and killing himself instantly.

The gathered squad looked upon the dead Arbiter and found not a trace of pity or regret in their hearts, this man had betrayed the principles of the Imperium as laid down by the Emperor and by His laws justice had been done. Nobody spoke any epithets or benedictions, for the heretic deserved none, he would be carried from here and thrown into a nameless grave to be forever forgotten by the Imperium of Man.

Persion lowered his bolt pistol and paced over to the desk then he cautiously picked up the data slate as if expecting it to explode and examined it in detail. The rest of the squad turned their backs on the dead heretic and gathered round to hear what they had found. Persion looked up and passed the slate around saying, "Co-ordinates and a basic layout for an Eldar base of operations, it's out on the surface and well concealed, we would never have found it from orbit without this."

Toran took the slate and said, "We are done here, gather the squads and signal Imix to withdraw. we are not going to wait around any longer, we strike at once and drive the Xeno filth from this world."

Persion hesitated for a second and said, "That base is a long way from anywhere and there is no cover on the surface, they will see us coming."

Toran snorted, "No, they will not see this coming I can assure you of that."