Chapter Two - Dark Frontiers.
"Such things arisen from Chaos are
as damnable as t'were ever imiginable,
but in all despair there is hope,
for in the past would man find his answer,
there lay all that waited to be found.."
Sonic, Sally, and Bunny, who to her friend's joy had been found in one of the other chambers,
sat staring into Warp Space through a viewport of the "Necromos". Heading towards Earth, they
were to appear before the Emperor, who would find them a purpose in the New Age.
"Sally-girl, why do ya think we're here?" Bunnie voice echoed in the stillness of the room.
Sighing, Sally let go of Sonic's hand for a moment, turning to her best friend.
"I really don't know Bunnie. All I know is how to be a freedom fighter.. I don't seem to have a
use in this.. time. I know I don't belong here.. none of us do.. something's happened and taken
us from where we should be. Daemons, spaceships.. I don't know the first thing about them.. yet
we're supposed to be heroes of the "Golden Age". I just don't know.."
Putting his arms around Sally's shoulders, Sonic sighed.
"We're lost, and frightened. But we've got to stay on track. That commander said they'd taken
Tails.. I'm not even sure if I know him, he way they described what he was like.. but he's still
my little buddy, and he's still part of our family. We find him, then we settle down somewhere."
Sally turned to Sonic in slight astonishment.
"You, settle down? Are you sure we've got the right Sonic here? Since when were you so level-
headed?"
Sonic turned back to the window.
"I don't know, Sal. Whatever this place is, its affected me.. I just want things to be as near
to they used to be as I can."
Exchanging a look with Bunny, Sally laid her head on Sonic's shoulder.
"Us too."
The room was shaken suddenly by a powerful explosion, throwing the three of them against the
opposite wall. Red lights flashed from the corridor, and the commander's voice shouted
desperately through a speaker system.
"It's a Chaos ship! We've lost engines, but not weapons! All Terminators guard the passengers,
they must be escorted through to the escape pods!"
Commander Banal, of the Shadow Fleets of the Inquisition, recited a mental oath against fear
and turned towards the wall of the cockpit, where cutting beams were breaking through the
weakened steel. Standing firmly, he waited until the section fell away. Terminators in black
armour faced him, their deformed arms bearing weapons decorated with bones.
They charged towards him, firing as they went.
He closed his eyes and prayed the Emperor would find him faithful. The passengers would escape.
Sally gently nudged Sonic's hand from around her waist and stood up.
"Don't they ever sleep?" she wondered, watching the silent terminators that stood around.
The escape pod was small, and while there were a few cyro-stasis pods squashed up to the rear of
the pod, they agreed not to use them. Being oblivious to what was going on was unacceptable
from her opinion, so they'd waited.
The explosion from the ship had been massive, knocking them off of their course and out into
space. Chaos space was hard enough to navigate as it was, and with the loss of their navigator,
reaching the Imperium seemed near impossible.
Sally had tried not to imagine the commander, ploughing through hordes of chaos daemons, locked
alone in the cockpit, one hand behind his back on the weapons control, waiting until he could
no longer stay conscious and then.. the explosion, travelling at the speed of sound, was just
behind them, and whenever the escape pod's thrusters gave out, she could hear ever so faintly
the screams as both craft were torn apart, the bodies of countless marines and terminators
drifting slowly into the void...
The Necromos's signal had been received, and an Inquisition Special Transport was already
enroute to their last known location. The Terminator Lieutenant, Remoras, was now in command of
those aboard the pod, and was entrusted with the group of "Freedom Fighters", that cargo the
Inquisition was so keen to get their hands on.
Scratching irriatately at a recent scar from the battle, he sat watching the group over by the
window. He'd been born decades after the legendary heroes had fallen at the battle of Horus, but
still he knew of their illustrious careers in the service of the Emperor.
None of this made sense to him; they were supposed to be dead. What they'd been doing on that
outpost raised many questions within his head, but trusting in the decision of the Inquisition,
he recited an additional oath against doubt and siphoned the heretic thought into a seldom-
accessed part of his mind.
All sorts of questions were still arisen, but he diverted his thoughts from them and directed
his attention toward the thought of the incoming transport. It was seventy-two hours away.
A lot can happen in seventy-two hours.
"Such things arisen from Chaos are
as damnable as t'were ever imiginable,
but in all despair there is hope,
for in the past would man find his answer,
there lay all that waited to be found.."
Sonic, Sally, and Bunny, who to her friend's joy had been found in one of the other chambers,
sat staring into Warp Space through a viewport of the "Necromos". Heading towards Earth, they
were to appear before the Emperor, who would find them a purpose in the New Age.
"Sally-girl, why do ya think we're here?" Bunnie voice echoed in the stillness of the room.
Sighing, Sally let go of Sonic's hand for a moment, turning to her best friend.
"I really don't know Bunnie. All I know is how to be a freedom fighter.. I don't seem to have a
use in this.. time. I know I don't belong here.. none of us do.. something's happened and taken
us from where we should be. Daemons, spaceships.. I don't know the first thing about them.. yet
we're supposed to be heroes of the "Golden Age". I just don't know.."
Putting his arms around Sally's shoulders, Sonic sighed.
"We're lost, and frightened. But we've got to stay on track. That commander said they'd taken
Tails.. I'm not even sure if I know him, he way they described what he was like.. but he's still
my little buddy, and he's still part of our family. We find him, then we settle down somewhere."
Sally turned to Sonic in slight astonishment.
"You, settle down? Are you sure we've got the right Sonic here? Since when were you so level-
headed?"
Sonic turned back to the window.
"I don't know, Sal. Whatever this place is, its affected me.. I just want things to be as near
to they used to be as I can."
Exchanging a look with Bunny, Sally laid her head on Sonic's shoulder.
"Us too."
The room was shaken suddenly by a powerful explosion, throwing the three of them against the
opposite wall. Red lights flashed from the corridor, and the commander's voice shouted
desperately through a speaker system.
"It's a Chaos ship! We've lost engines, but not weapons! All Terminators guard the passengers,
they must be escorted through to the escape pods!"
Commander Banal, of the Shadow Fleets of the Inquisition, recited a mental oath against fear
and turned towards the wall of the cockpit, where cutting beams were breaking through the
weakened steel. Standing firmly, he waited until the section fell away. Terminators in black
armour faced him, their deformed arms bearing weapons decorated with bones.
They charged towards him, firing as they went.
He closed his eyes and prayed the Emperor would find him faithful. The passengers would escape.
Sally gently nudged Sonic's hand from around her waist and stood up.
"Don't they ever sleep?" she wondered, watching the silent terminators that stood around.
The escape pod was small, and while there were a few cyro-stasis pods squashed up to the rear of
the pod, they agreed not to use them. Being oblivious to what was going on was unacceptable
from her opinion, so they'd waited.
The explosion from the ship had been massive, knocking them off of their course and out into
space. Chaos space was hard enough to navigate as it was, and with the loss of their navigator,
reaching the Imperium seemed near impossible.
Sally had tried not to imagine the commander, ploughing through hordes of chaos daemons, locked
alone in the cockpit, one hand behind his back on the weapons control, waiting until he could
no longer stay conscious and then.. the explosion, travelling at the speed of sound, was just
behind them, and whenever the escape pod's thrusters gave out, she could hear ever so faintly
the screams as both craft were torn apart, the bodies of countless marines and terminators
drifting slowly into the void...
The Necromos's signal had been received, and an Inquisition Special Transport was already
enroute to their last known location. The Terminator Lieutenant, Remoras, was now in command of
those aboard the pod, and was entrusted with the group of "Freedom Fighters", that cargo the
Inquisition was so keen to get their hands on.
Scratching irriatately at a recent scar from the battle, he sat watching the group over by the
window. He'd been born decades after the legendary heroes had fallen at the battle of Horus, but
still he knew of their illustrious careers in the service of the Emperor.
None of this made sense to him; they were supposed to be dead. What they'd been doing on that
outpost raised many questions within his head, but trusting in the decision of the Inquisition,
he recited an additional oath against doubt and siphoned the heretic thought into a seldom-
accessed part of his mind.
All sorts of questions were still arisen, but he diverted his thoughts from them and directed
his attention toward the thought of the incoming transport. It was seventy-two hours away.
A lot can happen in seventy-two hours.
