On the Legacy of Vengence
As promised two hours later Ianthe led her into a large well appointed room with a huge open fire. A long table dominated the centre of the room which was lined in wood that had been painted in intricate filigreed patterns between composed High Imperial style paintings in guilt frames. If you did not know you were on a starship it could have been the dining room of a wealthy noble's country estate.
Tarik was seated at the top of the table. He gave Kryn a smile and a nod as she entered. He was still dressed in black, but this was an elegant open necked formal shirt over well cut black britches. Ulrich was next to him. The interrogator looking much worse for wear in a wheelchair. A worried looking medicae fussed around him and an IV drip was hanging from a frame behind him along with several less identifiable, but undoubtedly medical devices. He gave a wry smile that turned into a wince as the medicae adjusted another bandage. A pair of naval officers were locked in conversation next to Tarik and paid her no attention at all. The final guest at the table was giving her a full, but not unfriendly appraisal. For a moment she thought it was the space marine from the docking bay but while this one shared the size he had much darker skin and hair and a face that might almost have been handsome before bio-magic had forced his frame into something no longer entirely human. Realising she was staring back she gave a quick bow and was rewarded by a slight nod in return.
"Marshal Sodor. Please join us." Tarik gestured to the empty chair and continued his conversation. "So the fleet is prepared, and the Ghostmaker protocol initialised?"
"We have secure communication links with both Navy and system defence commanders. They will obey orders and defer to the Inquisition. As for the protocol..."
The other naval officer broke in: "Well obviously we don't know it will work, and I hope we never will, but the 4 crews we brought with us are in place and the ships have been brought out of storage."
"Then we are as ready as we can be." He cleared his throat.
"Ladies and Gentlemen" Tarik announced as he tapped a wine glass with a knife. It was so archaic and formal Kryn had to stifle a giggle as she slipped into the empty seat. "Dinner is served."
There was a flurry as a set of servants brought in platefuls. It seemed that most people were sharing in the kettelfish. Though Menalis was seemingly content with what appeared to be plain bread and a flagon of water.
The servants quickly left and the door sealed behind them.
Tarik gestured towards a large mirror above the fire and it became a viewscreen showing an unfamiliar star system.
"Most of you know at least some of this, but I want to be sure everyone understands what we are fighting for. What you are about to hear is classified at the highest level and to repeat any of it outside this room, to anyone, will be regarded as an act of treason against the Emperor. This is the story of the Lyrian Rebellion.
"Every year tens if not hundreds of thousands of uprisings take place across the Imperium. Most are swiftly crushed by the local law enforcement. A few need the hand of the Arbites or the planetary government to slap them down. The rebellion on Lyria seemed like one of those. An initial anti-imperial secessionist movement that enjoyed limited success and under normal circumstances would have been handled by the local authorities without any need to involve outsiders. A few attempted terrorist attacks, the occasional riot. Each quickly forgotten by the local news outlets as some new distraction arose. Then something changed. A message went out that elements of the PDF had sided with the rebellion. No longer able to depend on the local military forces the planetary governor sent a request for aid. As fortune would have it 3 regiments were being transported to a nearby warzone to reinforce a holding action and turn it into a push for victory. The hope was by diverting them and quickly putting down the rebellion they could then join up with Imperial forces shortly after, quelling the rebellion and only delaying the planned offensive by a few weeks.
"By the time the Imperial Guard arrived the loyalist fraction had been pushed back from the main hives and the fraction of the PDF still loyal to the Imperium was dug in at a single hive cluster in the southern hemisphere. Loyalist refugees had filled it to capacity and vast camps were set up in the hinterlands for the tide of humanity fleeing from the rebels. Seeing a deteriorating situation the arriving Guard commenced and orbital bombardment from their escort vessels and landed on mass intending to use the loyal hive as a beachhead, recruit what remained of the PDF and then take back the other hives with a push supported by heavy orbital bombardments. A plan immediately abandoned as an army of millions took to the field against them. The surviving PDF told of a cabal of sorcerers protected by Chaos space marines. Another call for aid was sent this time answered by a contingent from the White Consuls. And as importantly an Inquisitor and her retinue.
"The White Consuls took command leading a desperate raid to assault the sorcerers and the half dozen Chaos marines protecting them. After a hard fought battle the Consuls took down the Chaos Marines and their Librarian, who had managed to limit the Chaos Sorcerers' counterattack, held them long enough for the remaining Consuls to eliminate them. Only five of the Astartes survived but the resolve of the rebel forces collapsed without the guiding minds of the sorcerers behind them. The Guard regiments used the disruption to break the advance of enemy forces and with the aid of the Inquisitor and surviving White Consuls put together enough of a loyalist force to begin the recapture of the fallen hives. When the situation was secure the Guard regiments were sent on to other battlefields, new colonists were shipped in to repopulate the more devastated hives and the Inquisitor and her retinue stayed long enough to wipe out all remaining traces of cult activity before leaving to confront new evils.
"Such was the official record of the campaign. That such a clean, quick and decisive victory was not widely known was enough to tell any seasoned veteran of Imperial history that the truth was much murkier.
"There were minor details such as the fact that the Librarian's efforts to contain the sorcerers had damaged his mind so much one of his own battle brothers had been forced to put a bolt in his head and burn the body, geneseed included to avoid the risk of corruption. Or that similar fates had befallen 3 of the actual 8 Consuls who survived the initial encounter with Chaos. The more major fact that so little of the population had remained uncorrupted that the remnants passed by the Inquisition as pure barely filled a single hive. But the reason the campaign had been deliberately underreported and lost in the vastness of Imperial history was far darker.
"The three regiments of guard who had been shipped in were the Cadian 438th a veteran outfit with years of battle glory to their name, the Sametan 5th an unheralded regiment that nonetheless had fought bravely on many worlds and the Tetran 3rd. The 3rd was a newly founded regiment going into its first ever battle. It was expected that under those circumstances there would be an attrition rate. Some troopers facing action for the first time would be unable to fire their weapons or would give in to panic and try to run. That was why the Commissar was such a vial part of any Guard regiment and being such a new founding the 3rd had an extra-large Commissarial team. As a rule of thumb on first blood between 1-3% of the troops would be battle casualties, not of enemy fire but of fear. As such the 2% of the Tetran's who baulked at combat was quite expected. Even veteran units sometimes suffered from this effect, either as new troopers joining to make up for battle losses experienced their first combat or long term psychological damage from previous conflict took hold of older troops. Though, naturally, the rate was expected to be lower.
"What shocked the Imperial strategists and consigned the true story of the Lyrian Rebellion to the black file of Inquisitorial secrets was the attrition rate of the other Guard. 90% of the PDF had joined the Chaos forces. Itself terrifying, but Chaos cults had been laying groundwork for decades, infiltrating at every level and the sorcerers had had time to work their fell magics. What dismayed the commanders of the relief forces was the almost immediate defection of nearly a quarter of the Sametans to the enemy and a further 35% becoming traumatised battle casualties before they had even engaged the enemy. Even the Cadians had suffered a near 10% defection rate with a third of those remaining unable to fight. The action by the Consuls had been the only hope as Imperial forces continued to fall even before enemy forces were in position to attack. The reinforcements had delivered 2 effective regiments to a shattered Imperial presence and half a regiment to the enemy. Worse there were reports of sabotage and insurrection beginning in the Fleet. Only prompt and brutal action kept a pair of escort vessels from joining the Chaotic insurgency.
"On the ground the losses at every level and every speciality caused massive degradation to both the Cadians and Sametans and only the Tetrans were actually combat effective when the Inquisition arrived a few weeks after the Guard's planetfall. After the strike, with the sorcerers dead, most of those who had been rendered combat ineffective were able to rejoin the fight. Sadly a proportion remained so traumatised they were given the Emperor's Peace. Those who defected were shown no mercy, decried as weak minded at best, tainted at worst.
"The Inquisitor counted a pair of Interrogators among her retinue. For months they engaged in a full purge of Lyria the three taking a hive each, collecting the loyal core to keep order before judging and either sparing or executing the rest. The initial cults that had paved the way for the sorcerous intervention were tracked down and eliminated. Then those who had defected were eliminated along with those who stood by. Throughout the Tetran regiment remained the one untainted and fully reliable arm of Imperial power. Defections had struck across the administratum and even the Arbites were not immune, though their training had provide at least some protection. What was left of the PDF was mostly beyond saving. Even those who remained loyal had suffered months of insidious nightmares and headaches. Voices and whispers tempted them during the day and warned them of the terrors of night that would only end when they turned to Chaos. The prolonged exposure left them suspect to the harsh unforgiving eye of the Inquisition. Only the Tetrans never seemed to hear these voices. Only the Tetrans slept soundly. The loyalist sections of the Samatans and Cadians were seen as reliable enough for guard duties and some basic policing as the transports bringing an enlarged Adeptus Arbites contingent and the first batches of replacement colonists made their slow way to Lyria to restore order and stamp down on whatever secessionist sentiment remained after the Inquisition left. Finally after nearly a year and a half the Guard were sent on to their next battlefield and the Inquisitorial retinue left.
"Of the two Interrogators one disappeared shortly after the end of the Lyrian campaign. The other, Interrogator Belash, was dispatched to Tetran to investigate why the Tetran's had shown such resistance. His mistress went to the Inquisitorial archives to research the history of the Tetran system. After they compared notes Interrogator Belash became Inquisitor Belash and took personal responsibility for the Tetran system, among others. While he rarely revisited Tetran, and only once openly, his agents kept a close eye. "
Tarik took a sip from his wine glass, refreshing his throat after his lecture.
"The idea that even the Cadians could fall to Chaos in such numbers was felt to be so dangerous to morale that the three regiments were sent unsupported into the middle of an Ork Waagh. None survived. I still don't know exactly what Belash's Mistress found in the archives but she was killed during the excavation of a Necron tomb world. From what Belash told me she must have been aware of Necron involvement on Tetran. Those sections of the archive have since been put under seal and no one can view them without the approval of a High Lord or Inquisitorial Conclave."
"Is that unusual?" Kryn asked. "Compartmentalisation of material is as old as the Imperium."
"Not for the Inquisition. Each Inquisitor is a law to themselves. Some books are considered so tainted no one can read them. Some information so dangerous only an Inquisitor can see them. But this level of secrecy on what were formally considered low value historical records. No it is not usual."
"So you believe the Necrons have engineered the humans here to be resistant to the warp." The rumbling voice of Menalis cut through like a bulldozer.
"That is certainly a possibility." Tarik agreed.
"And some members of the Inquisition knew this and covered it up." He continued.
"Maybe. Without seeing the documents it is not possible to be sure."
"Why would they do that?" The rumble now had an edge of steel to it.
"If they did that... As I said without access to those records it is not possible to be sure they did so speculation on motive would be premature. What is sure is that we need armies that can stand against Chaos more than ever before. If the Necrons are doing something here we have to know what."
"And put a stop to it." Kryn asserted. Menalis nodded along with the Navel officers. Tarik blinked slowly then gave an equivocal hand gesture.
"Step one find the where, then the what, then proceed from actual information. We have a potent strike force here, but we do not know the numbers that the Necrons can call on. If we need a full mobilisation of Guard and PDF then I will order it. But diverting that amount of men and materiel requires more evidence than we currently have. Cormack is in the process of locating our beacon. When he has it we will make a teleporter insertion. Find the source of the Necrons. If possible eliminate. If not retreat and bring in sufficient forces to do the job. That is our task tomorrow ladies and gentlemen. The fate of Tetran is in the balance. The Emperor protects." He made the sign of the Aquila and stood to leave. Kryn slowly sipped the last of her wine as the others filed out, mildly surprised to see that the vast space marine had yet to move. He met her enquiring look with a blank gaze.
"Marshal?"
"Do you think he is telling us the truth."
"Having worked with the Inquisitor for a time... yes. I do not recall him ever telling a direct lie."
"The whole truth?"
"Unlikely. He is an Inquisitor."
"Do you trust him?" The words more urgent than she had intended.
"He is a duly appointed Inquisitor. My trust is irrelevant. I will obey his orders. As will you Marshal."
Unsurprised by his answer she simply smiled nodded and left. The Marine stared at the wall, lost in his own thoughts. Trust was a rare commodity in the universe. He had little of it to spare for any human, Inquisitor or otherwise.
After a very uneasy night Kryn entered the crowded teleportarium. A large circle wide enough to park a tank was elevated from the floor of the chamber and surrounded by archaeotech. Somewhat incongruously a single cyber skull hovered patiently in its centre while tech-priests, astartes and stormtroopers jostled for space around its edges.
"Stand clear. Transport in 5." Cormack's voice rose above the hubbub of conversation and stilled it utterly. "Engage."
A crackle of static and then a dazzling flash from where the skull had been.
"Anything?"
"It's close." Syrano muttered, eyes closed and witchfire sparking from his psychic hood. "Within a hundred metres."
"We have a signal. This one survived." Cormack relayed with something akin to cheerfulness, though emotion was generally frowned upon by the Mechanicus.
"This one?"Kryn wondered aloud.
"Marshal." Tarik looked up from the console he and Cormack were sharing. "Yes, this one. We have a psychic trace, but mapping that to a precise physical location is tricky. The Necrons appear to have some sort of shielding protecting the interior of the pillars. There is a gap, presumably to allow their own teleportation in and out, but putting the ship in a spot to take advantage has been tricky."
"Base data coming through. Breathable atmosphere, no toxins. Close match to Tetran I but with fewer impurities. Gravity within 10% of standard. Orientation was out by 90° and we missed the floor by about 10 metres."
"Any visuals."
"No. We have major interference so we are limited to a low bandwidth text stream. Probably just the bulk of the pillar, could be overspill from the shielding."
"But we can get in safely."
"Define 'safely'. It's a Necron tomb."
"Sir!" a nervous naval rating ran into the room and all but bounced off Kryn's armour. "Enemy contact just detected in the solar system. There was no warp signatures, they were just suddenly there."
"How many?"
"3, one capital ship and a pair of escorts. Currently on course for the Tetran Cluster, they will arrive in the next 7 hours."
"Could they know we're coming?" Tarik fired the question at Cormack who shrugged.
"Not impossible. Their technology is beyond anything we have. But the tracking devices are based on..." He stopped suddenly looking around as if not sure he should divulge whatever was on his mind.
"..our sources." Tarik finished for him with a glare. Before stalking over to the rating to look at a data slate they had clutched in whitened fingers.
"And our sources believe the Necrons will be unable to detect the psionic signal."
"Your orders sir?" The rating asked as Tarik flicked through system schematics and estimated velocities.
"If Ulrich is fit he's in charge. If not Captain Verod has command, the battle plan is in place. Order all available ships to intercept." Tarik placed his signet on the data slate and tapped in a code giving full Inquisitorial authority to the contained orders.
"Shouldn't we wait until this is dealt with." Kryn asked, voicing the concern that most in the room were feeling. Tarik looked blankly at her. As an Inquisitor he did not need to justify his decisions but for whatever reason he decided to anyway.
"If the necrons know we are coming they will also know this is the only teleport capable vessel in orbit. Necron ships are all but unstoppable and if they are determined to protect their secrets they could well destroy the Legacy. It would then be months before we could mount another attempt. Teleport capable vessels are rare, those that have this particular model that can be modified to home in on psionic signals rarer still. That tracker won't last for months and if the Necrons here go into hiding we may not be able to find them again. We go now or it may be never. Suit up."
The five marines were already armoured and simply unclipped helmets from belts and slotted them into place. The troopers likewise donned the helms of their full carapace armour swinging bulky oxygen tanks over one shoulder. Their armour newly decorated with wards and strange technology seemed heavier than they were used to and several seemed awkward and off balance as they followed the Astartes onto the pad. Cormack walked onto the platform with no additional protection beyond his standard robe. It seemed his body had been designed to be proof against a range of hostile environments. Kryn put her own helmet in place. Under normal circumstances her suit was airtight with its own air supply to allow riot-control gas to be dispersed without affecting the Arbites in close combat. But each joint now had additional protection, both rubber sealant around the joints and hexagrammic wards. A bulkier air cylinder had been attached that would undoubtedly supply her several times longer than the usual two hours her internal supply gave. Tarik wore his fatigues and battered half armour. A simple respirator and oxygen cylinder was his only concession to the occasion. Presumably past pretending his highly modified body needed anything in the way of extra protection. As usual his golden collar provided an odd counterpoint to the otherwise practical and utilitarian outfit.
"Step up."
The Space Marines stood in a ring, facing outwards. Behind them twelve stormtroopers formed their own defensive line, ten armed with hellguns, one with a sniper rifle and the last with a grenade launcher. At the centre Cormack, Tarik and Kryn stood. All aware that despite the formidable firepower the small team could unleash if the tomb was active they would be swarmed under by an effectively numberless army. Assuming no fault in the teleporter or unexpected necron defence prevented teleportation in the first place.
"Engaging in 5, 4..." A high pitched whine began. "3, 2" lighting flashed from arcane devices and static snapped a weaker reflection crawling across any exposed metal surface. "1."
There was a flash and the platform was empty.