Early 36th Millennium, dawn of the Plague of Unbelief
Putnik Station, ancient wayfarers' station at the edge of the Mittani Drift, Gateway to the Deep Reach.
Putnik Station was an ancient port resting on the edge of an interstellar debris field known as the Mittani Drift. Millennia before, the Rogue Trader Mischa Habalus had arranged for modular portions of the station to be fashioned in orbit over the Three Brothers and then transported, piece by piece, to the edge of the Mittani Drift. She had hoped that its presence adjacent to the debris field would give it a substantial source of minerals for manufacturing of goods but her death prevented the plan from reaching fruition. The station had always been frequented by both the Void Clans and the occasional pirate vessel but its permanent population had remained very thin until the growth of the Technomats and Mining guilds resulted in an influx of tradesman.
Basil strolled down the corridor in his black carapace armour with visor up and force staff in hand, while his golden bow and a full quiver were on his back. Why do they always make me wear this stupid Inquisitorial icon? Basil asked himself but he already knew the answer. They want me to be a visible piece so that they can remain unseen. He glanced to his side at Moneka who had lifted her robes up a bit to allow her short legs to move more quickly. Maybe I should slow down and take it easy on her, he laughed.
He glanced around at the station and corridors he was walking through.
There were only a handful of passersby at that point between docks and the corridor was lined with recesses, one after another, which were designed to hold shops or artisans or even small-scale manufacturers, with nearly all being empty. But they are clean, Basil realized. At least the Guilds decided to map out and begin preparing this place for habitation. Underfoot, the rockrete floor was rough which made it good for walking. Overhead, every light fixture was lit but they had passed several side corridors where all the lights were out. "Where is it that we are going?" Basil asked, glancing over at Moneka.
"Three decks down," she answered. "Mila told me that a small vessel, the Void Skimmer, frequently docks there. She said that it journeys into the Deep Reach and its Navigator knows many eleseways paths, steady and narrow warp routes that can be followed without seeing the Astronomican. Perhaps they can help us."
Basil glanced ahead. "And here comes Matthias," he said to Moneka. The Inquisitor was walking with two plain-clothes men that Basil knew to be Storm Troopers while a third man trailed them. "I wonder if he discovered anything useful wherever it was that he has been asking questions?" Basil asked aloud, not really caring whether or not Moneka answered for he would learn soon enough from Matthias himself. He pondered the third man for a moment, but trusted that his prescience detected nothing through the Warp. No hint that something was about to happen. "I'm learning to trust my insights like you do," Basil said to Moneka. "Otherwise, I'd be fretting over that single man following Matthias."
A look of confusion came over Moneka's face. "What man?" she asked.
Everything clicked into place in Basil's mind, and at the same time, everything went black as the lights were extinguished. Basil immediately grasped the Warp and confirmed his suspicions. He saw Matthias' strong psychic Warp signature blazing in front of him down the corridor as well as that of the two plain-clothes Troopers, but the other man was not there. Basil immediately flipped his visor down. All the men came into his sight through the occulum of his helmet. The two Troopers walking in front of Matthias and the third man practically on the Inquisitor's back. The man had a blade in one hand but his other struck Matthias in the back of his neck and the Inquisitor immediately dropped to the deck. As Matthias drew his golden bow and an arrow, the two Troopers immediately turned around to face the assailant, bolt pistol and sword in their hands.
Basil took aim with the bow, sighting the assassin through his visor, and whistling to match the string's hum as he nocked the arrow and drew it back. He released the arrow and a blinding flash of light filled the black corridor, a flash which did not blind Basil thanks to his optical dampeners.
The arrow struck the man in his thigh, shattering bone and rending flesh before passing on through and burying itself into the deck at a shallow angle. The man immediately dropped to the deck beside Matthias. The two Troopers closed on the fallen man but Basil psychically screamed into their heads. Do not kill him!
Basil raced down the corridor through the blackness while Moneka followed but trailed as her short legs could not keep up with him. The assassin was slowly scooting away and back from Matthias' body and the two Troopers. One of the Troopers kneeled beside Matthias to check his vitals while the other cautiously followed the man with the shattered leg.
As Basil drew closer, he was able to make out the weapons wielded by the man. He wielded a short narrow blade in his left hand but wore some form of glove on his right. The glove had long needles which were fed by slender tubes which went up the man's sleeve and out of sight. The man was dressed in simple brown clothing and had medium length dark hair with dark eyes, perfectly nondescript. Knowledge which had been infused into Basil through Fynn's hypno-indoctrination crept to the surface, and a thought formed in his mind. The glove appears to be a lesser version of a Neuro Gauntlet used by the Eversor Assassins, he realized. The realization of what that meant dawned upon Basil as he reached Matthias and kneeled down by his trusted mentor.
Matthias' face was clenched in agony and his whole body quivered. It is too late for me. There's so much I still need to show you, rang out the Inquisitor's voice in Basil's head, his psychic power still strong despite his failing body. Remember the Great Enemy. We need allies to stop them. His eyes closed and his body stopped quivering, but remained stiff.
He's already dead and there's nothing I can do about it, Basil realized. A tear ran down his cheek, hidden from everyone by his visor, but he ignored it. You taught me so much, Matthias. I was your Apprentice, not your slave. You are the closest thing to a friend I can remember having.
Basil took a deep breath and turned to the man on the deck whose leg had been shattered by his shot.
"Let me kill him, Commander Cadmus," said the Trooper following the man. "He murdered Inquisitor Matthias."
"What man?" Moneka said in frustration as she came up behind Basil.
"Calm yourself, Trooper," Basil snapped. "Now!" The Trooper stopped in place and turned to look at Basil while the man kept scooting away. Basil took a step toward the man and revulsion filled him, making it difficult for him to focus. "He's the hole in your puzzle Moneka," Basil said without looking over his shoulder at her as he forced himself to step forward again. "A Psychic Null that you couldn't see." Basil took three quick steps forward, closing half the distance to the man.
"I'm speaking to you, man to man," Basil said. "Why did you do it?"
"Why?" answered the man. "Because you hate us and will kill us. You always have."
He said us, Basil quickly realized. There are more of them. he glanced around for trouble. "That has been true many times, but not always," Basil answered. "But that doesn't answer why you did it. Why you specifically targeted that man. Someone set you up to kill him. Who?" The man simply stared at Basil, but thoughts were already forming in his head. People have always turned on them, that is why they have been said to possess the Pariah Gene. Who would not only be less likely to fall into that trap of revulsion but would be able to convince him that they would not act that way? The answer dawned upon Basil. The Mechanicus, they selected him to kill Matthias. Their implants and cortical replacements would make them more rational and less susceptible to the side effect of the Pariah Gene, antipathy. And since the Omnissiah's Blessing came from Tanais before it visited The Nest, that is where this man came from.
A faint amount of light radiated from the ceiling and a great hum erupting from the many fixtures filled the air as they started back up.
"The men you dealt with are liars and dangerous," Basil said. "I am dangerous, but I am not a liar. Remove that glove and toss it to the side and I will see that you receive the medical aid you need."
"But Commander Cadmus," said one of the Troopers behind Basil.
"Do not question me on this," Basil snapped back, interrupting the Trooper. "Call Apothecary Fynn. Inform him of Matthias' fate and of the presence of this Neuro Gauntlet variant as well as that the culprit is a Null."
The man glanced back and forth between Basil, Moneka, and the two Troopers, then removed his glove and tossed it to the side. Basil bent his knees and kneeled beside the man then took the man's arm in his hand. Touching the man burned him through his carapace armour and Basil's stomach turned over, but he focused to ignore it. "Moneka," he began. "Go fetch a cart. Rolling him along will be less stressful to his leg than me carrying him." Moneka quickly turned and ran back down the corridor from which they had come. Basil then placed the man's arm over his shoulder and lifted him off the floor. To Basil's dismay, the pain of supporting the man was not a one-time shock of the first touch. It continued and had not lessened. "We have a medical automaton onboard our cruiser, the Veiled Strike. It will begin the process of repairing your leg."
The man stared at Basil in confusion. "Are you an automaton?" he asked.
"No. My name is Basil Cadmus and I am a human being like you," he said to the man. "Long ago the Emperor treated those like you with fairness and respect that others had not. I'm not the Emperor but I do attempt to live my life by the ideas he exemplified, with uniting Humanity being the chief one. And I want to welcome you and your kin on Tanais back into Humanity."
A tear formed in the man's eye and ran down his cheek. "I am Gideon," he said. "You said you are not an automaton. Does it not pain you to hold me?"
"I'd be lying if I said I did not wish Moneka to quickly get back with that cart, but I'm not going to call the discomfort I am now enduring as comparable to living your entire life as a Pariah through no fault of your own," Basil answered. "You and your people on Tanais are human beings like myself, human beings that have been played and tricked as well as rejected. And I am going to do something about that."
