That beautiful sound. First the little hummingbird of the startup engine. The first little tremble of the top barrel just as it starts to move. It is almost as if the gun is timid at first. It blushes at it loads the first cartridge in and smiles a shy smile with the first muzzle flash.
And then that roar. That holy roar. It is like a train passing at high speed, the iron wheel hitting the gaps between the bars at an ever faster speed. Bam bam bam bam bam. Bear in mind power armor is pretty tough. And plague marines are known for their endurance. But none of that matters when you are at the receiving end of an assault cannon. One second the traitor death guard was there and in the next he simply disintegrated. The grey knight moved his arm even so slightly to the left and another traitor turned into a rain of metal and flesh. And then he joined in the roar of his gun and unleashed it.
"No one is here, Captain. If there was an informant among them, he is gone now". The battle was over and two dozen plague marines lay shattered and broken in what was the command center of the space hulk. His squad had searched the command section of the hulk meticulously. But they had not been the only ones searching through the carcass of the enormous ship. And now the informant they were both looking for was gone.
The grey knight captain swore under his breath. This mission was a failure. He looked over his squads. Two casualties. Both wounded grey knights were still standing but fighting Nurgle worshippers meant all casualties were fatal ones. Both of his brother had been hit by plague shells through their terminator armor. In disgust he saw were the virulent acid had eaten through the armor and into the flesh beneath. One drop and you were done. Or worse. He saw the wounded men gives their final prayers, lower their helmets to receive the cleansing of the heavy flamer. Better to die a brother than to live as an enemy. Their sacrifice would be remembered.
"I am initializing the teleport brothers. Prepare the dead for transport."
Suddenly a chill ran through his bones and in the next second his internal adjutant confirmed what his soul already knew.
Warning. Unidentified warp shadow detected.
"BROTHERS! Incoming!" The grey knights moved instantly forming up in a circle around their dead comrades.
"Adjutant, analyse! What, and from where?" The assault cannon motor was starting to purr, ready to claw at an anything that threatened its master.
Non-localized presence. Superposed warp shadows. Unable to classify.
"Close ranks. Prepare for close combat!" Nemesis force weapons flashed at the ready casting a faint blue glow over the broken command center, reflecting off thousand year old terminals. All was quiet but for the drip drop of water trickling from the caved in roof.
"Captain, I am getting some strange readings." There was no fear in his brother's voice but quite a bit of frustration.
"Hold fast brothers! Adjutant, give me something." The captains made mental note to adjust his adjutant after the mission. This technobabble was unbearable.
Known daemons: no match. Warp shadow dimensional projection axis orthogonal to all known chaos powers.
"Adjutant! Enough! I need an answer!" Internal scanners revealed nothing. None of the dead plague marines moved. All was still.
Full archive query initialized. Establishing teleport link. Please stand by.
Time seemed to stretch forever. His gaze flashed across the wrecked command bridge. Nothing moved. A small bead of sweat rolled down the captain's forehead before the adjutant spoke again.
Partial match: Prisoner SE4890-EX-4578 captured 39015:450:31. Female Eldar, age 11. Cleansed during interrogation. Cleansing date 39015:452:72. Match 1.3%.
Partial match: Prisoner AG11-CR-19778A captured 39018:12:107. Female Eldar, age 4. Cleansed during arrest. Cleansing date 39018:12:107. Match 1.21%.
Partial match: Prisoner AG11-CR-28978C captured 39018:12:109. Male Eldar, age 7. Cleansed during negotiations. Cleansing date 39018:13:241. Match 1.19%.
Partial match: Priso...
Out of smoke and shadow stepped a small girl. Over what seemed like roughspun sack cloth she wore a stark white veil so fine it looked like smoke, gracefully flowing all they way down to her toes. Pointed ears. Delicate features. Eldar.
"Tirial, who smiled at the wind and rode dragons. Imoen, who laughed at flowers and was just learning to walk. Allia, who played with dolls. Even if he was a boy. Scandalous."
The captain did not answer her. But his assault cannon did. Before he could stop himself it clawed out at the girl, sending a single bolt racing straight for the slender figure.
"That's just great. Who is going to pay for this?" The figure poked her finger through the gaping hole in her roughspun robe and then threw her hands in the air as if to show she was quite unharmed. Neither her nor her veil showed any sign of damage. For a split second the captain thought he had heard a hissing sound in the shadows. But before he could pinpoint if the girl spoke again.
"You sure know how to greet a girl. Bullet holes and lists of murdered children. There is no love lost between us indeed, servant of Anathema."
Target analysis: Xeno eldar est. 9 solar years. Body temperature 2° C. No heartbeat detected. Warp shadow analysis still inconclusive.
"Daemon. I knew it." The captain smiled a grim smile behind his visor. The brother next to him mirrored his thoughts. "You choose the wrong people to try to corrupt". The assault cannon motor started to purr again. His comrades lines up along him. The daemon might resist one bullet the captain thought with grim satisfaction. Let's see how she handles forty thousand.
"First you shoot me and now you call me a daemon. You don't have a lot of luck with the ladies do you?" The girl chuckled at her own joke and made a sour face when the knights didn't join in. "Oh very well then: Redemptionis in morte"
The codeword for the informant they were sent to find. You could almost hear the jaws dropping behind the knights visors. But they recovered instantly.
"I don't believe you." Still the captain moved his finger off the trigger.
"Oh come on. My kin always claim the race of man is dimwitted beyond belief so for the love of all that is holy don't let them be right. They are so insufferable on the rare occasions that happens. So wipe that slack jawed stare of your face and think. You think my demonic master plan is to waltz in on group of grey knights unarmed wearing this charming outfit and then try to corrupt you with witty banter? What kind of idiot daemons have you been hunting?" The captain frowned and closed his mouth. How the hell could she know? His visor was down.
"You really think I am here uninvited?" Silence. The girl rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. "Fine, just hear me out! If you don't like what I have to say you can always shoot me again." She smiled a secretive smile.
"Speak then. Before I lose my patience"
"You have a snake in your midst captain. One whose head I would like severed". For a split second the captain mentally went through all the knights with him on the mission. He breathed a sigh of relief, he would bet his life they were all loyal.
"You don't fool m..." He didn't get to finish. The girl sure liked to interrupt.
"Oh not them" The girl made a casual gesture across his squad. "No they are all nice little choir boys in their little white little costumes"
"Who then?" Reluctantly the captain allowed his weapon to spin down.
"Oh no, not until we come to terms" She wagged a finger at him.
"Why involve us at all? Why not do it yourself?"
"Because I am but a little girl?" She made a face like she was selling him a second hard freighter full of holes and custom ork modifications.
"Who just took a bullet to the chest without flinching."
"Ok you got me. Truth is that is part of the deal. He was very very specific on that point. No touching the humans. Especially the ones playing dress up." She shot him a quick smile "No offense."
The little girl looked up, waved her hands and with a sarcastic sneer look told the roof. "See? I am not touching your fancy toy soldiers!"
"And truth is he has a point. So that means you fine gentlemen get the privilege of doing my dirty work for me". The girl leaned down, her veil collecting in perfect folds on the floor. All around her was filth and decay yet she remained pristine. When she rose again a small piece of paper stood before the grey knights. Before they could ask who "he" was she spoke again, this time in a grave voice.
"On this piece of paper stands written a name. This man knows the location of something very dear to me. Or to be exact the great unclean one inside him does. He has seen it. You will extract that location for me. And the daemon must not be allowed to escape. That is the deal."
"What is it you are after?" The captain was half suspicious and half curious.
The girl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't want to tell you. Also mentioning it aloud might draw unwanted attention."
"Then how am I supposed to know what to question him about?"
"Oh you will know. It will be the last secret he gives up before he dies. Because if he gives up that secret he can never go home." The girl said it with a look of regret on her face. As if the pitied the daemon. "And a word to the wise: After you read that note, destroy it."
"What if you lie?" The captain reached down picked up the small note without taking his eyes of the girl.
"Give yourself some credit. If he is a daemon you will find out. And you will know I upheld my part of the bargain."
Written in a small eloquent hand was a single word. A name. The captain read it and held the note his massive fist, seemingly contemplating something. Finally he decided and shut off his comm with the rest of the squad.
"Adjuntant: Inquisition override Xeno Armageddon Avenger"
Acknowledged
"Corruption scan on this name."
Corruption scan result: pure white
He looked at the girl. She rubbed her silky veil slightly between her fingertips and winked at him. Pure white. Few people have a full white scan, and most of them have not yet learned to walk. Daemons often went to great lengths to hide their presence. And sometimes they went too far. The captain turned the comm back on and threw the note to the ground.
"Brother Azigus."
"Yes Captain?"
"Burn it". His brothers heavy flamer roared in triumph and the note literally went up in smoke. Then the familiar yank of the teleporter called the grey knights home.
The second the terminator squad was gone the little girl collapsed. A red flower blossomed from the hole in her robe. But before the hit the ground a figure was by her side. As he moved his body exploded into millions of tiny fragments of light, the only thing visible a mask on his face. Portraying an inhuman visage of rage.
A vicious alien undulating laugh echoed in the broken halls as the man's free hand reached for the place where the grey knight squad had just stood. The shadows started to move.
"N..." She gurgled a sick sound and vomited blood. "No!" Obviously using all her strength just to speak, dangling loosly in his embrace. "We need them! You will destroy everything I worked for! If you kill them sister will never be free! Brother please I beg you!" Reluctantly the shadows retreated and the man retracted his hand to support the girls head. Even still his outline was blurred, like air on a hot summer's day.
The girl breathed out a sigh of relief and touched the wound in her stomach, cold blood still pumping out of her. A soft laughter carefully rolled from the man. His mask was now a face of great sadness with a single painted tear on his cheek.
"I stayed in this place too long, I need to get back to the infinite circuit. Will you carry me?"
The man lifted the now unconscious girl into his arms with the greatest care. He kissed her on the forehead and through shadow and smoke they were gone.