AN: This part was betaed by Seylerius on the sufficient velocity forums. Thank you very much for the time and effort you put in cleaning up this story!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warhammer 40K games, books or movies. They belong to their creators and/or copyright owners. I make no money from this story. It is not for sale or rent.

A Tale of Blood and Steel

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Inquisition

=ATBS=

Part 6

Diomedesresidential complex

Elysium District

Victory Bay

"Boys, if I was going to suddenly turn into a daemon, I would have done it already. In that case you should have started shooting a minute or so ago." I deadpanned and brushed off the blood on my face. "Besides is this the thanks I get for risking my very soul in order to help you guys?" I glared at them.

"How is this helping us?" Santos waved at me with his gun.

"You're well aware what the Astartes would do once their patience runs out, right? The sooner we find the Inquisitor the less of your buddies will die." I didn't add that we might not find him in a state to help anyone but the Emperor.

"Corporal, he actually makes sense." Dole muttered.

"Yeah, but the Inquisitor get the rest of our squad killed when he sent us after that Eldar." Valencia added.

I should have asked what exactly did the Stormtroopers did for Requista before requesting them as my bodyguards. I made a mental note to seek such information in the future if I got out of this snag alive.

"He's right though. If someone doesn't talk some sense to the Marines we're fucked like Slaaneshi cultists after an orgy." Dole nodded sagely.

"How do you know that?" I asked pointedly

"We had to clean up that nest of cultists on Bendix's World before we deployed here." I could clear the disgust in Santos' voice clearly.

"Yep. Nasty stuff." Valencia nodded.

"You're lucky that I'm not a paranoid member of the Ordo Hereticus." I sighed. "Are you going to shoot me or can we go? I could really use some painkillers right now."

"What do you think boss?" Valencia asked.

"Well… He isn't growing tentacles or extra limbs; besides, he sounds sane."

"Saner than most of our commanders before we got assigned to General Alexander's regiment" Dole added.

So the Sarge was right. Showing that you care about the lives of the troops could save your life. Unless they were going to shoot me anyway.

I wondered if I could channel enough Warp energy to save myself, before my head blew up, because it already felt as if Titans were marching through it.

I had no illusions that I could draw my laspistol and shoot before being gunned down, much less use my chainsword. Perhaps now it wasn't the best moment to mention what might happen if I fucked up using the Warp to save myself. Such an explanation was all but guaranteed to get me shot just in case.

"Let's go see the medic… sir. You look like shit." Santos lowered his weapon and his men followed suit.

"I feel worse. Thanks for not using me for target practice."

"Day's still young." Valencia snorted.

=ATBS=

Saint Hortensia's Highway

Deimos Peninsula

We left a squad to secure Requista's apartment and calm down the locals. The medic started checking me up after we piled up in the Chimera and went on our way to meet the Astartes.

Some painkillers, a bandage and an order to try and get a bit of rest was his conclusion. While he couldn't find anything permanently wrong with me, the medicae didn't have the equipment at hand for any in depth scans so I had to hope for the best.

The rest on the other hand was out of the question once we neared our destination. Even without the Warp feeling particularly hellish and pissed off here, I would still be racing to find Requista anyway. With the Immaterium's state, that just became even more important.

Still, there wasn't a thing stopping me from getting a nap while we drove through the countryside. I did sleep, dreaming of dark, formless shapes.

It didn't do much to rejuvenate me, before Santos shook me awake, earning himself a bleary-eyed glare.

"The Astartes is in sight, sir. We'll reach him in a few minutes."

I gave him a nod and stretched, cursing the lack of caff on the Chimeras. That should be a vital feature for the functioning of the troops.

Then I looked outside through the nearest gun slit. There were fields all around us, covered by a blanket of waving yellow plants. Something to do with feeding the local populace, no doubt. I could see a handful of people and machines tending them, though not near enough I would expect.

A five-cornered war might give the locals other things to worry about beside the harvest, no matter how important it might be. Considering that the fields around Victory Bay were starting to resemble a lunar landscape, because of the constant skirmishes between the Guard, Tau, Ork probing attacks and Eldar incursions, that might turn out to be a problem long term.

As we got nearer, I dared take a peak at the Marine waiting us through the Warp and recoiled back.

He was the strongest presence in the Immaterium I had yet to meet! I frowned. That very thought sounded somewhat wrong in my head.

The convoy ground to a halt when we reached the Astartes. It was time to meet him and see if he was going to be actually helpful.

I was first out once the ramp lowered and headed towards the large Warp presence.

Damn. He was big. More like really huge. He was an armored behemoth at least a head over two meters tall, clad in a pristine power armor that was covered with purity seals, which shone in the Warp with the power of the blessing they carried. He was leaning on a large assault bike, which had built in a pair of auto-cannons. A golden platted warhammer could be seen sticking out of a side compartment of his ride.

"Welcome. I'm Brother Librarian Anteas." The Astartes turned his helmet my way. His voice boomed, carrying over the nearby fields.

"My Lord!" I bowed and the Leftenant, who joined us then followed my example. What the hell was a Librarian doing out here by himself?!

"So you're the one that made Thule listen to reason." Anteas studied me for a moment. "I expected you to be taller."

I just stared at the supersoldier. Did he just make a joke?! Then his first words hit me. So not everyone in the Blood Ravens was totally on board with slaughtering loyal Imperial citizens because of conflicting orders. That was good to know.

"Do you know where we should start seeking the Inquisitor? We should retrieve him before the Captain gets impatient again."

"Ah. Yes, My Lord. I scryed his destination from a map in his quarters."

"Good, good. You've noticed the state of the Warp then?" The Librarian asked.

"It's the nastiest I've ever felt." I told him the truth, yet those words rang hollow too. I had the feeling that I've experienced even nastier parts of the Immaterium though I couldn't recall it.

"It's quite unpleasant, isn't it? It heralds nothing good for any of us. We should hurry with finding Requista." With those words he turned around and got on his bike.

"Let's go find the Inquisitor." I nodded to Pickos, who was staring at the Librarian.

I think that the Astartes joking broke her and it was something I was still trying to wrap my head around.

=ATBS=

Part 7

Stonecutter village

Deimos Peninsula

Kronus

A few hours later we reached a small settlement nestled in a valley below the plateau dominating the southern part of the peninsula. Through it laid the most direct and fastest land route to our target.

It was a good place to ask a few questions of the locals. First I needed to know if the Inquisitor had passed through here and as important, to figure out what was he seeking in this part of Kronus. So far Deimos and the surrounding provinces were mostly untouched by the war save for the occasional Orkish raid.

That was the plan anyway. It hit a snag before we even parked in the small square that served as a center for the village.

One would expect to find a lot of onlookers when a platoon of Imperial Guardsmen accompanied by an Astrates arrive at their doorstep.

That would have been normal.

There was not a single person outside when we parked in the plaza.

"It's too quiet, sir." Santos muttered quietly. The Corporal was carefully studying the surrounding buildings through a gunport.

"That's probably the first time outside of an active warzone that I don't see bystanders gawking at us. The Space Marine by himself would guarantee that everyone who could would be outside looking.

"Or running for the hills. In either case we would have heard or saw someone." Valencia added.

"Weapons on the ready." I spoke quietly and drew my pistol. My right hand fell on the hilt of my sword.

We weren't the only ones to smell trouble. The rest of the Guardsmen dispersed immediately after leaving the Chimeras and got under whatever cover they could. The only one who stood seemingly without a trouble in the world was the Librarian, though he had pulled his warhammer out of its compartment.

I sighed and concentrated, before carefully touching the Warp.

There were… echoes of pain and terror. An odd feeling that resembled death but not quite. Yet, they both felt somewhat subdued.

There were no living people here beside us that I could sense, though that was no guarantee. I had to pull back from the Warp as my head started pounding almost immediately. The Immaterium felt eager, almost hungry. As if it was holding its breath, while it was waiting for something.

That wasn't a nice sensation at all.

"This settlement is empty." Anteas voice was quieter, merely the volume of a rather loud man.

"Leftenant, sent a few squads to check the nearby buildings. Men don't leave your buddies out of your sight. There's something very wrong here." I added. The last I spoke quietly so they won't hear it.

Thad didn't help with the Librarian who inclined his head in my direction.

"Walk with me. We'll check the Chapel." Anteas ordered.

I shrugged and walked fast after him. At least he took care to walk reasonably slowly so we wouldn't need to run after him to keep up. The Stormtroopers fell in behind me and I saw the Leftenant wave a squad to follow us. She and two fire-teams remained with the vehicles, while the rest of the platoon moved toward the nearest buildings.

"Aren't you curious?" The Astartes asked when we caught up with him.

"About what, My Lord?"

His helmeted head swiveled my way and he gave me a pointed look. I didn't know that a Space Marine helmet could convey so much.

"Truth to be told, yes. At best I expected your Captain to send the lowest-ranked Astartes under his command. Instead we got you, My Lord. Unless I'm very much mistaken, your armor and all the seals on it signify that you aren't just any odd Blood Raven Librarian, which is even more surprising."

"Makes no damn sense, you mean." Was that amusement I could hear in his voice?!

I shrugged. It didn't.

"That was Thule's plan you know. To sent you a pair of Scout Marines, who are due for punishment detail."

I nodded. That was much more likely.

"I disagreed. Finding Requista is the most expedient way to stop this madness." Anteas sighed. "Unfortunately, the Captain doesn't believe him to be alive any longer. Not after being out of contact for a week now. That very well may be the case, though I had to take the chance. The alternative..."

"The Inquisition and Segmentum Command won't be thrilled when they learn about what has already happened. Any more skirmishes between Imperial forces for no good reason would be frowned upon at best."

"Indeed. Unfortunately our orders don't leave much for interpretation and Captain Thule isn't prepared to breach them even if it mean evicting the Imperial Guards from Kronus."

"I guess that as strongly worded suggestion from an Inquisitor would give the Captain the latitude he needs so we can concentrate on dealing with the Xenos?"

"That's why I'm here. There are some of us that would take any chance to avoid spilling innocent human blood." The Librarian spoke quietly.

We were about to reach the Chapel. It was only a short alley away, one which was flanked by statues of Imperial Saints. Acting out of habit, I made the sigh of the Aquila and bowed my head.

"Do you smell that?" Dole asked. I could hear him sniffing behind me.

A light wind blew towards us from the direction of the Chapel and I could barely make out the scent too. It was the coppery stench of blood and it had to be an awful lot of it if we could smell from our position.

"Set up to provide cover!" I snapped at the Guardsmen following us. "Santos, prepare to breach. Check for traps first."

"No need. I'll lead the way." The Astartes rumbled and strode towards the Chapel.

Apparently I wasn't the only one who was fine with forced entry today. The Astartes pressed a rune on the hilt of his weapon and pale lighting started dancing around its head. He swung the warhammer as if it was a toy and simply shattered the door standing in his way.

The afternoon sun shone through the entrance, bathing the interior of the Chapel in its rays.

"Fuck me with a Baneblade!" Santos exclaimed. He was the first of us ordinary humans to see what was inside thanks to the tech built into his helmet.

Anteas was busy muttering a prayer for the dead, though his head was swiveling this way and that as he studied the interior of the Chapel. That's when I was finally able to see what awaited us inside.

The place resembled an old battlefield. The floor was covered with shattered and burned wood, though it was hard to make under the film of blood covering most of it. The walls were liberally sprayed with dry flaking blood, though I could see deep gashes in the stone where great claws had cleaved it without any trouble at all.

There were no bodies or even pieces of such, though there was more than enough blood spilled to account for at least couple of dozen people.

"May the Emperor damn whoever did this." I hissed.

I closed my eyes and opened my mind to the Warp, while steeling myself for what was to come. The echoes of pain, suffering and terror were still here, though muted again. As if whatever had happened was hundreds of years ago at least and not in the last few days.

It made no damned sense! My head should be splitting from the screams of the dying. I should be feeling the psychic imprint of their souls as they were murdered.

"Curious, isn't it?" A deep voice boomed in my head.

Suddenly, there was a figure wreathed in light towering next to me. It was Anteas all right. His very soul shone with its purity and power.

"That's not how I would put this." I waved around us.

While the Warp continued to be wild and angry around us, the Librarian's presence next to me made it bearable. My head did hurt a bit, but nowhere near what I expected.

What didn't change was the feeling of foreboding. Of eager expectation for something to happen.

It wasn't going to be anything good for us.

"No. There's something afoot in this place, something familiar." Anteas frowned. "I can't sense what did this." He waved at the bloody floor. "There should be something. An imprint, a resonance left from whoever did it."

"It's as if they had no presence in the Warp." I muttered.

"Exactly!" The Librarian exclaimed. "That would account for the way the murders feel. Blanks perhaps? This at least isn't the work of Chaos. We would have known it at first sight."

"Considering that the Inquisitor came here to seek Heretics, this isn't reassuring. The last thing we need is another enemy."

"True. There isn't anything more we could find out right now."

The shining presence next to me became muted as Anteas pulled out of the Warp.

I was back firmly in my body moments later, still feeling the aftereffects of my little excursion.

"Don't give me that. I want you to check all reports of vanished people and see if there are any other settlements we've lost contact with without a good reason." Anteas was speaking aloud over the Vox built in his helmet.

It was a good idea. I would have Leftenant Pickos report back to base so they could check too.