Tergum Cultro Chapter 9

Through the dank sewers IXth squad ran, racing barely ahead of a crescendo of noise and tremours as their demolitions brought down the Inner Wall. Behind them was destruction but before them lay the hunt, chasing the signs of the Skitarii's retreat through the sewers. They moved swiftly and quietly, seeking out the scuffs and disturbed rubbish left as the Mechanicus troops passed through. The spoor showed they had moved in great haste and there was no telling how far ahead they had gotten while the Space Marines fought. Soon they had backtracked to the shadowy concourse where they had fought off the first ambush. The signs of their fight were still fresh, with blood spatters still drying on the rough figurines carved into the walls. The shacks and debris were disturbed by the passage of many feet, showing the Skitarii had travelled through, but which exit they had taken was not so obvious.

Toran paused and said "Spread out and check each tunnel, see if there is any trail to follow."

The squad broke up and fanned out, looking carefully in the dim light of flickering Lumen orbs for any indication where their prey had gone then suddenly Daite stood up straight holding out an Auspex scanner and called out, "Unknown presences detected, closing fast."

"The Skitarii?" probed Toran.

"Possibly, but the motion signature is too large," replied Daite, "Either they have prisoners or they linked up with reinforcements."

"Assume ambush positions," Toran commanded instantly, "Fire only on my command."

With practiced ease the Storm Heralds spread out in a wide perimeter, creating a deadly kill zone in the centre of the concourse. They settled into concealed positions and reduced their armour's energy output to minimum, becoming indistinguishable from the worn and tarnished figurines carved into the walls. They waited patiently, not giving away so much as a twitch to betray their presence as the long seconds crept by. Then from one of the adjacent tunnels two dozen figures came creeping out, each wearing the bulky backpack of a Hellgun. They were swift and disciplined forces, skilfully covering the angles and covering each other with precision yet to Toran's surprise they were not Skitarii. The newcomers wore matt black fatigues and dulled carapace armour, their heads covered in all-enclosing helms with night vision googles built in: Imperial Stormtroopers.

Toran was shocked by their arrival and wondered what a platoon of Stormtroopers were doing in the sewers as they spread out into the concourse. Their tactics were good, their movements crisp and professional, but they were no match for Astartes. When they had reached the centre of the kill box the Astartes suddenly came to life, powering up their armour and stepping forwards with Bolters raised. Most common soldiers would have opened fire immediately in a panic but the Stormtroopers were experienced and highly disciplined soldiers. They saw the perfection of the ambush around them but also that the Astartes had not yet opened fire, so they gripped their hellguns tight but did not start shooting.

Toran stepped forwards and barked, "In the Emperor's name identify yourselves!"

From the back of the group came a stern and prim voice saying, "What gives you the right to make such a demand in the Emperor's name?"

The speaker stepped to the fore and was exposed to the pale light of the lumens, revealing upon her bodice and pauldrons the silver 'I' of the Inquisition. The woman wore form fitting black power armour and had a face with thin, pursed lips that seemed to be permanent set in a scowl. Her silver hair was set in a tight bun and her skin had the subtle tells of juvenant work that meant she could be anywhere from fifty to two hundred years old. She was armed with an energised blade and a las-pistol, while across her belt were scrolls, purity seals and a variety of grenades including that rarest of weapons: a Psyk-out grenade. She was a sight to set the heart of Heretics cowering in fear and contrition, a vision of the Emperor's judgement. Unfortunately she was also sight Toran was all too familiar with.

Toran drew in a slow breath and growled, "Inquisitor Canesh, this is unexpected."

"Sergeant Toran, I see you are still dragging your Marines through the filth," Canesh snapped, seemingly as displeased to see them as they were her.

Indeed IXth squad had been involved in a mission with the Inquisitor some ten years earlier and they all had bitter memories of the entire affair. The mission had been completed but he cost had been high, IXth squad had come away shamed by the deeds she had demanded and had tried to put the whole incident behind them. Toran had been unable to discern the woman's character, at times she seemed petty and shallow at others ruthless, detached and judgemental. To this day he still wasn't sure who the real Canesh was, all he was certain of was that she had a unwavering determination and would not hesitate to pay any price to achieve her goals.

" What are you doing down here?" asked Toran.

She replied primly, "I might ask you the same thing."

"We asked you first," commented Halis Paur, "And we have Bolters."

Canesh gave them a superior glower that spoke volumes of what she thought of that comment and Marines in general. Toran decided not to play her petty games and declared, "This world has rebelled against the rightful and just rule of the Emperor, we are here to bring his wrath down upon the heretics."

Canesh paused thoughtfully then reluctantly replied, "I too do the Emperor's work, rebellions such as this do not simply happen. There are always masterminds and sponsors hiding the shadows. The Inquisition will not let such Traitors evade his sight."

Toran put up his bolt pistol and the rest of the gathered warriors lowered their aim, not quite stowing their weapons but at least not pointing them at each other anymore. Toran declared, "We too have noted the unusual skill and determination of these rebels, we suspect a deeper Heresy is at play. I believe we may have found just such a Heretic: in the midst of battle we were abandoned and betrayed by a Mechanicus Magos named Castabore."

"Castabore?" asked Canesh sharply, "This explains much: Castabore is a known Heretic and deviant, long have I sought proof of his perfidy. This timing is too convenient: I suspect he may well have started this whole rebellion to cover his thefts."

"Thefts?" asked Toran intrigued, "What exactly is here that would make a Magos turn against the Imperium?"

Canesh narrowed her eyes but a twitch of a Bolter from Halis convinced her to tell them, "Caminus is an old world, with shrines that date back to the Nova Terra Interregnum. There are secrets deeply buried here, Archeotech caches from antiquity."

Halis sounded suspicious as he said, "And exactly what is in this cache that is so valuable?"

Canesh merely glared at him, clearly not wanting to reveal all her secrets but Toran stated, "Inquisitor, while we debate this matter the Heretic flees ever further away. If you wish us to work together to catch Castabore then we need operational data. Without knowing Castabore's goal we cannot predict the Magos' actions."

Canesh's face was a mask of stone but eventually she admitted, "The Inquisition has long suspected that there may be an archive of STC designs on Caminus."

That shut Toran up, the sheer magnitude of her words changing everything and silence fell as the gravity sank in. The solemnity of the moment was ruined however as Novak asked, "What is an STC?"

Furion sighed in exasperation and answered him, "If you paid attention to anything other than your bladework you would know that a Standard Template Construct is the original technology supplied to human colonists during the Dark Age of Technology. They contained designs for everything you can imagine, from farming crawlers to starship weapons and warp-energy taps."

"So they are valuable?" asked Novak

Canesh replied impatiently, "It is a prize beyond the dreams of avarice, even a single page of STC output would be worth killing for. The Inquisition cannot allow such a treasure to fall into the hands of a Traitor, imagine the damage that could be wrought with the power of an STC. It must be denied to the Archenemy."

Halis was eyeing her suspiciously and said, "No its more than that… you didn't just happen to be down here the moment a Heretic chose to strike. You want the Cache for yourself, don't you?"

The look Canesh gave Halis could have soured milk for clearly she had no intention of revealing that. Through gritted teeth she admitted, "The Inquisition is dedicated to the survival of the Emperor's rule, yet Mechanicus has had these designs for thousands of years and simply buried them. The Inquisition would see these designs put to good use, not hoard them like misers. There are those in the Inquisition who hold that it is the Mechanicus who is holding humanity back, that it is the Tech-Priests who are preventing innovation and advancement. Their blind devotion to dogma has robbed mankind of the tools necessary for survival."

"That is an unusual thing for an Inquisitor to say," Toran stated suspiciously.

Canesh begrudgingly admitted, "We are sworn to defend the Imperium but our eyes are not shut, we can see it is a stagnant and rotten thing. To survive we must tear down this rusty and ancient cage that we have built for ourselves and replace it with a tower that can once more touch the stars. Your own Chapter, for all its flaws, sees this to be true, your quest to revitalise the Imperium might be flawed but ultimately even you see that we need change."

Toran was deeply disturbed by these words, true he disagreed with his Chapters' habit of proselytising, but he had seen enough to know the Imperium was corrupt to its very core. The idea of changing things for the better was a potent thought but he was nought save a humble Space Marine, the politics of rulership were well beyond him. All he could do was focus on the step before him and fight the enemy he confronted that day. Toran finally said, "If this data is truly what you claim it to be then we cannot allow it to fall into the hands of one who has betrayed the Emperor. If what you say is correct she may well have sponsored this rebellion in the first place, such a crime must be punished. We shall join your quest as allies and bring the wrath of Terra down upon the Heretic Castabore."

Canesh did not seem pleased by this pronouncement but begrudgingly said, "If you insist on accompanying me then it seems I have little choice. There is an ancient shrine not far from here, I suspect that will be Castabore's destination. If we act fast we may still be in time to stop a disaster."

"Very well," replied Toran, "Lead on Inquisitor, together we will bring this traitor to justice."