Shadow of a Doubt

Chapter 3

Aboard the Imperate Electus

"Play it again." The handsome woman sitting on the chair behind the table leaned forward, crossing her fingers and resting her chin on her hands stared at the message intently. Beside her stood the gas masked Watchmaster still dressed in the uniforms of the 7th Krieg Heavy Siege Regiment. His boots were spotless, polished to a high spit shine while the Hellgun he held at shoulder arms was obviously quite well used but still maintained in immaculate conditions for a weapon that has probably been used to bash in skulls more times than it was designed for. Standing behind the woman stood a man with a short strip of hair on top of his head with bare skin shaved sides and backs dressed in casual clothing except for the carapace armour around his torso. A bullpup hotshot carbine was slung across his chest.

Sitting at the console hooked up to the display was a man with a hard sharp face with a large scar crossing his mouth wearing a trench coat and combat pants. He hit a button on the console and the message played again.

"This is Judge Opren of the Tyven V Adeptus Arbites. The planet has gone mad, the governor is declaring her independence, armed mobs roam the streets. The Emperors Light has been extinguished on this planet. We of the Adeptus Arbites will sell our lives dearly but this cannot be allowed to stand. I ask for assistance from anyone that receives this message. The traitors cannot be allowed to stand against the Emperors judgement. Ave Imperator."

The message was interlaced with the sound of combat shotguns as well as bolter fire. Inquisitor Laneth Rendalvel closed her eyes for a moment before opening them as she listened to the message. Her interrogator seated at the table seemed to be in an unusually dark mood but that was understandable. Before he was Interrogator Troiey Lamber, he was Arbitrator Troiey Lamber of the Protos Arbites, a planet that was part of the Empire of Ultramar. He knew that as Arbites, each of the Imperial enforcers on the planet would not shy away from duty but for the Adeptus Arbites, recruitment was a slow process. The loss of an entire planets enforcer cadre would be hard to replace and take a very long time. Laneth examined the data slate on the table set in front of her and frowned slightly. "An Arbite Judge sending a message through a Munitorium communications system. That is unorthodox is it not Troiey?" She asked her Interrogator but also typical of her, the question was fielded to everyone in the room. "Yes. It should normally be sent the Hall of Judgement." The former Arbite answered as he glared at the screen. "Munitorium communiques are normally sent split through either Administratum Codes or Commissariat Codes. It's either issues of reinforcement and logistics or guard enforcement related." The man with the stormtrooper haircut would pipe in as well. Veteran Sergeant Cypris Dirk was formerly of the Elysian Drop Troops, a hardened special forces soldier of the 22nd Elysian Drop Troops. "Typically the only ones who can use a Munitorium communication system effectively is the Commissariat because Commissariat clearance codes cut through most of the red tape issues of the Munitorium ones. The Munitorium and Administratum clearances require clearances to use the clearances." A quiet guffaw could be heard from the Watchmaster. Of course to the Krieg Grenadier, all that mattered were more ammunition and reinforcements. And if a Munitorium clerk refused to provide it, then a field execution was called for. Of course there was also a reason that Commissars attached to Krieg regiments were not there to enforce regimental discipline, but rather to ensure that Krieg regiments did not go overboard executing other guardsmen as cowards for following withdrawal orders.

"Well, our path seems to be clear. If nothing else, this calls for investigation. Does it warrant an invasion?" The Inquisitor thought out loud. "My Lady, any planet that turns from the Emperors Light deserves nothing less than the full force of the Astra Militarum." Unsurprisingly, the answer came from the Watchmaster. A soft effeminate chuckle came from the last person in the room. A thin yet clearly fit figure dressed in an armoured bodyglove laid sprawled over a couch set beside the desk. It was hard to tell in some ways if it was a male or female face, a cybernetic eye was set on a high cheek boned face that would not have been out of place gracing a pleasure den on a paradise world. "For Watchmaster Veimeer a toaster that is three seconds out of programmed toasting time is enough of a reason to send in the Emperors hammers."

Cypris coughed a little and tried not to laugh as an amused curve of the Inquisitors lips threatened to turn into a full blown smile. The Watchmaster only looked at the effeminate figure and made a sound of disgust. "Play nice Silas, the Watchmaster is as Krieg made him." The Interrogator finally stepped in, an amused smile on his face regardless of his tone. Silas only pouted and sprawled into another position on the couch must like the way a feline would. Cypris would cough politely however, and lightly touched the Inquisitors shoulder. "All due respect Inquisitor, but perhaps now would not be the time to pull Inquisitional authority where we are, in the Ultima Segmentum. Not after our last interaction with the Ultima Fleet.." On their previous mission, Laneth had used her Inquisitional authorities to order an Imperial Naval Fleet to abandon their mission to reinforce the Ultramarine defence against the tyranid threat in order to send the four Imperial Guard regiments onto a minor world where the local priest had tried to declare himself the new regeant of the Emperor. Only two regiments remained after it was realised that ones behind the scenes were Alpha Legion astartes, and the trap was sprung on them. "Yes, I suppose trying to force the Navy again or even to send a message to the Ultramarines would end rather poorly." Inquisitor or not, the reality often was that the rosette only carried so far, especially when said bearer of the rosette had angered the Segmentum fleet command.

Laneth thought about it for a moment. "Very well. I suppose the best thing to do is to check to see what is going on. After all, it's not the first time we've had to remove a governor from office." Her acolytes nodded and each headed off to conduct their own rites of preparation. After they left, Laneth closed her eyes again and thought about what this could mean for the planet itself if they had to order in the Imperial Guard.

Station 88305

"Commander, we have news from our assets." Rythor would hand a data slate over to Kyreg, the Gungnir Sergeant having led his squad conducting patrols outside the fortified base as well as to receive transmissions. Kyreg nodded his thanks and looked over the data slate. He hit a button which began to play the video recording. It showed a great hall and a deranged man standing a few hundred feet away on top of a marble podium. "Today is finally the day we throw down the yokel of the corpse emperor! May his corpse rot in the warp! Today my brothers and sisters we have freedom! True freedom given to us by the gods of the warp and we will use this freedom to give them the adoration that they demand!" Cheers of all sorts erupted around the recording device. The bearer of the device would look around and it seemed that the entire room was filled with nobility, as well as their various servants and bodyguards. "But my brothers and sisters, we have much work to do! We still have those who are misguided and still believe in the false emperor… they must be ENLIGHTENED." The recorder started moving as whoever had it would walk closer to the podium. Beside the man could be seen four armed men in a local uniform but with symbols of Slaanesh tattooed on their cheeks and foreheads. The recording ended with the recorder walking infront of a mirror wall and Kyreg could see that it was Galya now dressed as serving girl.

"It seems brothers, they have made their move. It seems our suspicions are correct… the traitors being here are not a coincidence but now I wonder what it is that they seek." Kyreg gestured for the other legionnaires to form around him. It was the way of the Legion to seek advice from those under your command. "It cannot be just for slaves and supplies. Even the grandiose crazed of Slaanesh do not try to take over a world when it is just slaves or amusement they seek. It is much safer for them to capture the slaves in a quick raid, and leave the capital city burning before escaping into the warp." Thodor spoke up at this, with the other legionnaires nodding in agreement. "Then it seems they aim to capture the planet. But a single battle barge cannot take a planet. Not when it is a traitors ship that has been unable to resupply itself from forge worlds and the like. A traitor ship will not possess three full companies of Astartes. Nor will it have a full compliment of weapons and ammunitions on board." Sergeant Lefias chimed in, with the others nodding as well. After the great scouring no matter which Legion was on the run, the issue has always been the same. Except for the Eye of Terror or the influential enough regions such as those ruled over by Huron Blackheart, there are very few places for Traitor astartes to resupply. Dark forge worlds pumped out supplies for the mortal forces of Chaos but as for the Astartes, they relied on raiding the supplies of foolish or vulnerable loyalist marines.

"Well according to our asset the grunt work will not be done by them. Look at all of the humans who have fallen to their influences." Kyreg pointed out, while Thodor had a face of distaste as they played the video again. "The planet is secondary. We serve the Emperor and the Imperial Truth, not the lapdogs of Terra. Whatever the traitors are looking for, we must stop them. However we cannot simply invade Lorehenge. Even considering the Gamma 6-7, we lack the numbers to fight an entire planet. No, we must gather more intelligence." Kyreg examined a holographic map of the capital city as well as the surrounding country sides. "Rythor. I believe it prudent to send out Gungnir towards the country sides surrounding the capital city. It seems from all the information gathered so far that the rot spreads from the nobility, meaning that while the city itself maybe wrecked in turmoil, any resistance would be on the outskirts or the rural regions. Let us see if we can find some of them and put them to use." Rythor nodded as he brought out a map of his own and began marking spots. "Mordin. You are to act as our central communicator while we are away in the field. Taleon will secure this facility at all costs. I require Sergeant Yingr to meet with us. I know he is on the planet somewhere but I require a face to face." Mordin would bow his head slightly at the Commanders orders. "Xythos, while Gungnir heads into the country side, we will need to gather more information around the city itself. We will deploy immediately." Affirmatives came through on the vox as the legionnaires readied themselves.

Four hours later

Kyreg and Xythos were about six kilometers away in a defensive circle spread out as they awaited. A single homing beacon was set in the middle as soon they could hear the barely audible sound of one of the modified Stormeagles touch down and two attack bikes were set down. With a salute from the pilot, the transport vessel took off to head back to orbit, its stealth fields activating momentarily after dropping off the bikes. Xythos moved swiftly onto the bikes, Kyreg jumping onto the main bike while Thodor sat into the passenger carrier. Ulyr jumped onto the other bike while Mytis also jumped into the passenger side. The two bikes were standard Legion pattern assault bikes but with a few modifications. The bikes were made for self-sufficiency and reduced supply need so instead of a heavy bolter, twin-linked multilasers were installed instead. Powerful enough to bunch through power armour and cover, it provided the major anti-personnel weapon. At the same time, a las cannon was set down as some anti-armour capabilities for the assault bike. For the passenger however, a Tau railgun was mounted for the passenger to provide an extreme long range weapon to the modified bikes. Kyreg revved the engine, the muffler barely making a sound as the modified assault bikes took off. After an hour careful riding through the various hills that made up the eastern side of the continent that led to Lorhenge, Kyreg signalled a stop, the legionnaires keeping their bikes about 10 meters apart while they put up the cameoline camouflage netting that came with them. While Kyreg began looking through their surroundings with a pair of binos, Thobor used the magnified electronic sight of the railgun to examine the country side as well. The reason Kyreg had signalled a stop was because the air smelled different. A slight smell of corpses as well as ionised air that came from a mass use of las weapons had reached his nose, the wind bringing the scent to his enhanced Astartes senses. Frowning slightly, he gestured for a slow advance as he marked what he saw on the common map shared by Xythos, a small red circle marking the spot that he suspected was the source of the smell. The bikes advanced slowly, crawling forward so as to allow the Cameoline to still be effective. After twenty minutes of slowly advancing, they could see a few tents set up with bodies all around. The tents were perhaps four or five kilometers further down the road, and it seemed to be around six of them. The tents were big enough for perhaps 10 people each but there were probably hundreds of corpses in massive piles a short distance away from the tents. Kyreg focused his binos and he could see humans carrying everything from crude spears to las rifles wearing symbols that were definitely not Imperial gathering around the small fire places. With a frown, he opened the vox to Ulyr. "I can see cultists but I want a whole picture overall. Circle around, I wish to see who they have been waging war against."

Ulyr clicked his vox once in affirmation before lightly tapping the apothecary manning the railgun beside him. "We have our orders. I think Kyreg can guess there just might be an Imperial presence here somewhere." Mytis nodded and lightly adjusted something on the electronic sight of the railgun. With a quiet purr, Ulyr pushed the bike around and started to circle the outer most side around some of the smaller hills. He went slow, not because of any worry over the bikes or the terrain but in order to keep himself hidden. Four legionnaires were enough to win battles, but those who concerned themselves only with winning a battle seldomly won the war.

The legionnaire guided the bike slowly circling away from where the tents were marked on his HUD map display in his helmet. At his side, Mytis scanned the horizon slowly looking through the electronic targeting sight of the rail gun mounted on the sidecar. As the bike moved through the low gullies of the landscape, Mytis sent a single vox blip to the legionnaire piloting the bike and the bike came to a slow stop. "There. Near the edge of the treeline." Nodding at the apothecarys words, Ulyr brought up his binos and looked towards the treeline. There was a massive section of woods but right in front of the tree line was a series of trenches and fortifications dug in. Heavy stubbers could be seen set up with flakboards and sandbags as well as men in sand coloured helmets manning them. Every so often a heavy bolter can be seen mounted in certain sections but it seemed that the PDF troops were not technologically gifted when it came to heavy weapons on this planet. With a slight nod, Ulyr pushed the bike slightly further away from the treeline but effectively moving behind the defensive line itself. It seems as if the defensive line was made for the woodland behind it. Perhaps not all the mortals here were hopeless. Ulyr thought to himself before he set his binos up again and observed.

A single blip alerted Kyreg as Ulyr seemed to have expanded on the map markings. Loyalist positions were marked out. Good, a defensive position about a kilometer or so away. There were clearly no heavy guns as those would already be firing if that was the case. One of the tent flaps opened and someone in power armour stood out. Expecting it to be a corrupted cousin, Kyreg enhanced the magnification only to see that it was too small to be an Astartes power armour. No, it was a woman who wore it, a woman with snow white hair and markings of Slaanesh carved onto her face. Purple ash had been rubbed into the wounds so that the scar tissue itself was of a sickly purple hue on her face. Sororitas? The infamous Sisters of Battle? No. The equipment was much more improvised. More of them stepped out of the tent flaps, 12 in total who readied bolters and melta guns. Every single one of them seemed to carry a chained edged weapon of some kind, from chainswords to even a chainglaive. The leader of them, a woman in bright white power armour with gold trim said something to a man carrying an autogun and the man bowed before running off to the other cultists around. Without waiting for them, the women began to march towards the loyalist positions. So, it was to be an assault then. If the legionnaires were not there, perhaps this would have been a slaughter. Perhaps. While Kyreg knew that mortals were capable of much, they were still that, just mortals.

The 12 unholy sisters marched towards the loyalist positions, a certain grace in their steps even as texts carved onto flayed skin fluttered from their attachments to their power armour. There was a certain unholy beauty about them, Ulyr decided. However that was the temptation that the youngest goddess offered. His lips curled in a look of disgust, he checked his stalker bolter carefully. The magazine was loaded with a 30 round magazine of Cainite rounds. That would be enough for them. Of course in their arrogance, the Slaaneshi warriors seemed to forget that the hand of the Emperor reaches far. The Imperial Truth came from a barrel of a gun, those of his Legion knew better than anyone. They were there, Legionnaire reconnaissance squads armed with sniper rifles ready to put down every officer of the XVII if they spoke out against the Emperor that day when his psychic might forced the entire Word Bearer legion on their knees as he destroyed their worship of him. The Ultramarines lacked the ruthlessness required to kill someone in cold blood, but his Legion did not. When the Emperor received Lorgars promise to never spread Emperor worship again, a subtle signal by one of his Custodian-Captains had saw his legion marksmen disappear. A subtle twitch of the pinkie on the left hand that held the Custodians Guardian Spear. Such was the way of his legion after all.

With a shout, the chaos sisters held their chain weapons high and the cultists around them charged. Firing wildly at the PDF positions, screams of ecstasy would come from the charging mob as the PDF soldiers opened fire, dropping dozens with the loud clatter of their autoguns. "How very IV Legion of you.." Ulyr muttered to himself. One of the IV Legions favoured tactic was to use the Imperial Auxilia attached to them as bolter shields. That way the actual Astartes assault could be used to pierce the formation itself. And of course, that was before they turned to heresy.

"Target, chaos power armour unit leader. Range 1582 meters. Temperature within parameters. Slight wind east to west. Humidity within parameters. Confirm when firing solution presented." Every member of Kyregs legionnaires were trained marksmen and quite capable of matching the accuracy of legion reconnaissance squads from any legion. They were quite capable of even giving the twice-damned Blood Angel marksmen a run for their money. After a few moments, Mytis grunted his confirmation. "We have firing solution for the power armoured ones." He would alert Kyreg.

Far behind the enemy formation, Kyreg had provided the same type of information. "Target, chaos power armour melta gunner. Range 1134 meters. Temperature within paramters. Slight wind east to west. Humidity within parameters. Confirm when firing solution presented." In his case however, Thobor and his psyker abilities gave him an edge. "I have firing solution commander." Kyreg grinned underneath his helm. "Await fire orders. Let them engage first."

"My sisters! We will send more souls of these worshippers of the Corpse God to The Prince of Pleasure! Every soul is another tribute to blessed of the warp!" The Slaaneshi Reaver screamed out as her sisters responded in kind, screeching the way harpies perhaps used to during the ancient Terran eras. Around them, the cultists charged forward, finally making it into the Imperial lines as the Reavers fired their bolters, targeting the PDF heavy weapon platforms.

"Sir, the Colonel has been hit. What do we do?" The panicked looking private jumped into the foxhole beside Captain Miles Tyrborne. The PDF officer gritted his teeth and fired his autogun on full auto, sweeping the charging line of the traitors. There were too many to miss at this point. "Private, we die in place. We die in place in the name of the Emperor and we will stand at the Golden Throne with our minds ready and clear to receive judgement. That is what we do Private." The Private reloaded a new belt onto the stubber and nodded before firing, steam and smoke coming out of the barrel as the barrel was heated up even more by the solid slug rounds being fired out of it. Captain Tyrborne reloaded and heard the stubber stop, turning his head to admonish the Private when he realised that a burst of bolter rounds had caught him in his neck and head, leaving only a half pulped torso and blown out skull leaned against the trench wall now. Cursing as he shoved the corpse aside, he pulled the trigger on the stubber and swept the line through the horde. They were only 300 meters away now, and he knew how this was going to end. Looking down the trench line, there were more bodies now then there were living soldiers. Even the newest recruits were veterans now, this was not something which the PDF was truly ever prepared for. "9th Company.. we die in place. We die because every second we stay alive is another second denied to traitors. We die because it is the Emperors Will that we go down fighting. Our only solace is that we died as soldiers in service to the Golden Throne." A ragged cheer erupted along the trench lines. The PDF soldiers all knew this was how it would end. Some had dirty faces washed with tears as they held onto their weapons and fired.

"On my mark. Fire." The tau railguns fired with a loud metallic sound, the two targeted Reavers simply collapsing as their armour disintegrated under the force of the rail rounds, their innards turned into organ soup as they fell. The other Reavers paused for a moment before two more of their squad were dropped to the ground. Scanning their bolters left and right, they looked for the source of the lethally accurate snipers, shoving cultists in front of to act as a shield to no avail. The next rounds punched through multiple cultists to shred through their power armour and leave them on the ground with their previously solid organs pouring out of the entry and exit wounds. The last six began to retreat but as they closed in, Thobor fired off two more rounds dropping them. At a closer range, one of the chaos reavers head simply exploded leaving nothing but a bloody stump where the head used to be. Kyreg fired the las cannon into one, the corrupted sister falling to the ground with a hole where her vital organs used to be. Finally shouldering his stalker bolter, a quick burst took care of the other two while Thobor fired the rail rifle again and sent the last one to the warp.

"To my position." Kyreg ordered. He revved the bike and met Ulyr behind the woodland where the assault bikes were quickly stashed. "To battle my brothers. The Emperor appreciates saved mortal lives. So let us indulge Him. Blackshield pattern." The four legionnaires dismounted, the active camouflage switching at a single command to the suits cognitor and changed the dusk blue armour into all black. An illusion of course but a necessary one. They walked through the woods, seeing what the PDF was defending. Civilians, shell shocked, some injured, some dying and some soon to be dead all hiding in the woodland. Kyreg would acknowledge the sacrifice of the mortal soldiers later on. Xythos strode through the woods, civilians gaping at the four legionnaires, some going on their knees to pray. Some with tears in their eyes as they saw what could only have been their prayers answered. "It's the Emperors Angels." Some whispered. "It's his divine judgement come to life." Some started sobbing, as the Legionnaires exited the treeline to stand there as the PDF soldiers stared at them.

Captain Tyrborne was on his knees as he watched the previously howling chaos Reavers be torn apart by someone. Someone had helped them; someone had killed these chaos champions. He closed his eyes and prayed.

"I tread the path of Righteousness. Though it be paved with broken glass, I shall walk it barefoot; though it crosses rivers of fire, I will pass over them; though it wanders wide, the light of the Emperor guides my step" The Captain had his eyes closed before one of his men shook him rather roughly. "Sir.. I.. look!" The Captain looked up to see four black armoured clad Astartes with bolters at the ready. "I.. my Lord! It's a miracle.." The Captain stuttered as he looked over at the space marines who seem to have come in the nick of time.

"There are no miracles. There are only men." Kyreg replied, quoting Saint Sabbat. The soldiers around him gaped at the response. "There is the Emperors Words Captain. Do you know what they are?" he asked them as his squad stood above the trenches, solid rounds and las rifles flying past them. The mortal officer shook his head. "Death to traitors." Kyreg replied right before Xythos opened fire. The cainite rounds were quite frankly overkill against the unarmoured cultists but each legionnaire fired precise kill shots regardless, dropping cultist after cultist. The cainite rounds would punch through more than one heretic, only detonating if the bolter hit solid bone. When it did, it took off limbs and entire chunks out of the chaos cultists as the melta cap would melt flesh and bone while the acid would shoot out inside of the cultists body. Some were missing organs as they dropped to the ground. As the last rounds were fired out of their stalker bolters, the squad drew their blades in unison. Blue powerfields were activated as the four legionnaires strode in, only Kyreg holding his phase sword and butchered the traitors.

Gore would fly as the powerswords did not merely cut through the mortal bodies but it utterly gutted them. The battlefield would be covered with gore and blood as the legionnaires waded through, cutting down every single one until there was no more. The four legionnaires stood amidst the battlefield and sheathed their blades, reloading their bolters as well. The PDF soldiers could only stare at the astartes as they strode out of the battlefield.

"My Lord.. what do we do next?" The mortal officer asked as he kneeled in front of the Emperors angels. "You fight Captain. As long as there is a single drop of blood left, a single round and shell in our guns, we fight. The Emperor expects." Kyreg answered before he gestured for the man to get up. "Tell me. How many of you are there. The ones still loyal to the Golden Throne." The man thought about it for a moment. "Well Lord, when everything happened we asked for guidance from PDF Command. PDF Command ordered us to head back into the city and pledge allegiance to the Governor. I.. I didn't feel that was right my Lord. I'm faithful to the Emperor, I couldn't just betray my oath like that. There are a few of us, we're the 9th Company. I believe that companies First to 6th have all abandoned their faith to the Emperor. There is just us, the 9th. The 10th and 11th have holed up as well and refuse to swear allegiance to this treason. I'm not sure of their status my lord, but we are barely sixty left out of more than two hundred and fifty. And that's including the walking wounded." Kyreg nodded once again. "Then let me ask you this. Given the opportunity to serve the Emperor, will you? Not just you. But everyone in the woods. Would they all serve the Emperor again?" The man nodded eagerly. "Yes My Lord. We are at your service." Kyreg nodded again before blipping his vox. In a few moments, three stormeagles arrived as well as a single Thunderhawk, undoing their cloaking at the last moment as they landed and the ramps dropped. "Hurry then Captain. Get all your people on board, now." The officer nodded in surprise as he hurried off.

"Is that wise Commander?" Phobor had messaged him in private vox. "These people are all products of the Ecclesiarch. Who knows how they will react to the truth?" Kyreg sighed softly inside his helmet. "Phobor… do we not serve the Emperor and the Imperial Truth?" Phobor seemed to almost be hurt at his Commanders questions. "Commander, you know that is the reason we were forged from the geneforges of Luna." "Yes Phobor, we are. And how will humanity rule the stars if we leave them to die?" Phobor nodded once, at least understanding the reason behind his commanders actions. After almost an hour, the ships were loaded and cloaked again, flying back up to the Kilo Zeta with its new occupants.