Author's Note: Sarpedon, and Soul Drinkers are copyright of Ben Counter, an author for the Black Library. This is a spinoff story from his Soul Drinkers series.


The great myriad of stars, novas, and spiraling galaxies blinked on the outside of the plastiglass screen. Battle-brother Matthias stared out into the great void of space, that which held the forever eternal, and all shifting warp. His ceramite gauntlet covered hand swung up from his right side, and pushed against the viewport, as his gaze fell to the steel plating of the floor. The deep, dark purple ceramite of his power armor glittered in the light, as the lights in the observatory flickered to life, signaling morning.

It had been days, maybe even weeks since Rogal's Pinnacle had stopped receiving out of system vox signals. In fact, in system ones had stopped coming only days later. Matthias had lost count, but he knew there was more then him, or his fellow battle-brothers knew about what was happening on the other side of the god-forsaken warp. The marine battle-cruiser itself, remained quiet amid the deep silence, of the warp.

Then suddenly Matthias' head pulled back up, as the built-in vox speaker in his helmet chimed, signaling that the line had been opened by someone. What continued was a fresh, yet aged voice familiar to Matthias, and his battle brothers.

"Brother brethren, those who are proud to wear the name of a Soul Drinker, our chapter's call has arisen again from afar. We are indeed not lost, nor forgotten, for indeed Rogal Dorn's chosen chapter master does call us again. Chapter Master Sarpedon, alerts us to a threat, a most devious threat. The imperium has turned on us, and we must be weary of the paths to come."

Another chime on the vox speaker, and the message ended.

Even before the last word was spoken, Matthias was already rushing out of the battle-cruiser observatory towards the ship deck. The ceramite foot guards of his suit grinding against the polished steel of the ships floor.

As he reached the control deck, and the corridor doors withdrew back, he found Captain Asturdius, and fellow squad-leaders, hunched over watching a holo vid recording. It's contents were unknown to him, as he entered. Then suddenly he saw the clean, slightly scarred face of Chapter Master Sarpedon, the Chapter's soul, and shepherd. His face was contorted in anger, and the shouts of anger, metal screeching, and massive explosions in the background told of the massive battlefield that he fought upon to spread the sacred word of the God-Emperor.

"Battle brothers, I call you now, for our Father the Emperor calls us now, in a time of most dire need. Our chapter has been deemed fallen, deemed forbidden, deemed gone, we are...excommunicate. We have done nothing to deserve that which only heresy deserves, that which Horus joined, but the Imperium has turned against us. I ask you fellow brothers to spread among the stars and keep the chapter alive, for those who were our brothers the Imperial Fists, and Crimson Fists have attacked us suddenly."

There was a long silence, in which Matthias fell to his knees in disbelief at the betrayal of the Imperium. It's betrayal to one of their most loyal, most faithful, most blessed chapters, the Soul Drinkers. Then a brief static screech, told of another faint vox signal. Sarpedon's face appeared again on the holo vid transponder.

"Battle brothers, continue to spread the Emperor's word among the stars, and keep that which is sacred, the Soul Drinkers alive. One day we will bring the Emperor's fist back among the stars, in it's true form. Sarpedon out."

The vox signal ended in a wave of static.