Author's note

This super short story is inspired by the artwork of Krekk0v on twitter and a comment by kxh007458 on Baidu's "Warhammer 40000" Tieba on the post/discussion "相信虚假的希望便是这个下场".If you can understand simplified Chinese and want to have the original link or if this short story cause any copyright issue. Please contact me and I will delete it ASAP.

All copy right to Games Workshop and respective original creators.


"Stay behind me girl,I won't let them hurt you!"

A space marine kindly told a helpless girl behind her while shooting his bolter to the chaos space marines.

Treacherous Chaos traitors,storming in the Space Marine fortress monastery of the chapter "Warden of Solaire" successor of the (plot armor)Ultramarines. Noble warriors and honourable knights fell one by down mercilessly and gunned down brutally by vicious and filthy traitors. Body of loyalist space marine scattered all around inside the monastery

As multiple bolter shots exploded inside the body of the last astarte,the noble knight collapsed. With his last breath, the mortally wounded astarte looked at the girl ,endured all his pain and made a smile as gentle as possible,trying to comfort her.

"It's ok...run...and don't look back..."

Then,there was only the sound of silence and so were the last words of the noble warrior.

The poor girl knelt and cried loudly,her tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down to the body of the lifeless astarte.

"No!No!No!Wake up!You said that you will always protect me!Please!Wake up!I don't want to be left alone...Don't let go of me!"

She sobbed into the astarte's helmet unceasingly, hands clutching at the armor and helmet. She held it in tears and her tears soaked her clothes slowly.

A 3 meter giant,or better described as the monster,just curb stomp an another mortally wounded astarte's skull into blood moist,he slowly turns and face towards the poor girl.

He was so strong and heavy,like a moving fortress,armed with a relic combi-bolter attached with scope held in hand and clad in serpent-like scale armor,slowly approached her.

Every step made the ground trample. He then stood right at the back of the poor girl, with his combi-bolter aimed at the back of the girl point blank,ready to execute her in the name of the dark gods.

The girl didn't turn back,instead,she still clutched the helmet and sobbed with tears,she said in shaking voice

"I believe in hope?Do you,Traitor?"

The giant monster aimed at her skull and said coldly

"So is the fate for believing in false hope."

The girl closed her eyes.

...

"BANG!"

...

However, the sound did not come from the bolter, instead,it was from the vox speaker of the Alpha Legionary,

"Ok Katalina, there are no more enemies around, you can stop pretending."

The little girl who was just crying helplessly turned with a naive smile on her face,

"Hehehe~ain't you always teach me to 'play the full set'?Well,here I am!And I have done a great job!Right,Master Teleskopos?"

The Alpha Legionary replied friendly and kindly,

"Yes, have looted a lot of materials and supplies warband will not be bothered by the supply issues for a long ,since this is a fortress monastery,our apothecary will be able to collect all their gene-seed for full use or trade them with the clonelord Fabius Bile."

The Alpha Legionary then knelt on one knee gently,reaching his hand to the girl,

"Let's go,shall we?"

"Yes,of course,Master Teleskopos."

Katalina,happily reached her tiny hand to Teleskopos's massive fingers.

While walking with joyful pace,Katalina asked his master naively,

"Master,I have a question."

"Yes?What is it?",Teleskopos replies kindly.

"Are all these killings really necessary?I mean that they are being really kind to me. They treat me with delicious food and a comfortable bed. They even praised me that brave little girls like me are the hope of the Imperium. If they didn't protect me, surely they all won't end up dead like this,right?"

Teleskopos replied patiently:"Only by purging the weak, the Imperium of Man will survive. These warriors are really too weak. They hoped and relied on a weak mortal in order to achieve victory. So is the fate of them for believing in a false/ We are the test of the Imperium and our mission is to purge the weak and failings for the Emperor in order to unite the Imperium as a whole. This is necessary to protect the true hope of humanity"

The Alpha Legionary subconsciously touched the serpent and hydra insignia on his scaled chest armor, he said proudly,

"For the emperor!"

"For the emperor!" The little girl echoed with force.

While on their way on the thunderhawk,the girl ask again,

"So Master Teleskopos,what we have for dinner tonight?"

"Since you have done a great job,you will be able to have grox steak with bread and Dammassine for a few days."Teleskopos smiled under his snake-horned helmet.

"Really?Yes!Yes!Yes!Thank you master!"

"Ha!Of course it is."Teleskopos spoke as he padded Katalina's head softly.

During their chatting,all the supplies and loot had been stored in the gunship.

An Alpha Legionary saw the two figures and waved to them,

"Hey,Brother Teleskopos,Miss Katalina!Over here!We are already waiting for you!"

The serpent and the daughter entered inside the door of the thunderhawk gunship.

As the door slowly closed and the thunderhawk set off,

the sons of the Hydra slowly faded away into the beautiful deep blue sky and the dark cold void,

with ruins of the weak and failures left behind...