Day 203
- Found what might be a mess hall of some description. There is a hydra symbol on the wall. I decapitated all the filthy mutant crewmen and wrote in blood under the hydra; 'The Heads Do Not Grow Back.'
- I can smell the food that is burning under the grill. Some of it is human flesh.
- For these deaths I feel no guilt.
- I have now got knives as weapons. It feels good to be armed again.
- Can hear alarms. Can hear the tromp of heavy boots
Day 204
- I hid above the lowered ceiling of a closet used to store emergency gas masks. I can smell the fear I have caused. It is beautiful.
- One of the reasons the Inquisition show such a keen interest in the Chapter is because we learn from all the primarch teachings, not just one. I mean all, this includes the traitor ones.
- I have studied the texts of Konrad Curze and I know how to screw with someone's head.
- This some of the Inquisitors consider borderline heresy. Pretty rich coming from an institution that has been known to consort with deamons.
Day 205
- Broke into a cargo storage area today. There was a crew of chaos mutants moving the crates around. I killed every one of them.
- I have written in blood on the side of one of the crates 'Death To The Enemies Of The False Emperor'. I then hit the alarm button. I want someone to find this.
- Being on a chaos vessel seems to just bring out the worst in a person.
- I watched down from the top of a pile of crates as they read the message. I wish I could smell their bemusement, but the smell of tainted blood is drowning everything else out.
- Hiding in one of the crates.
- I need to think of what to do now.
Day 206
- Have reached the conclusion that there is no future on a vessel full of my mortal enemies. This conclusion was easily reached. I now need to find a way off of this heretic filled barge. Or to sink it. Sinking it is a good second place.
- How does a chaos vessel navigate the warp? None of the Navis Nobillite went traitor during the dark days of the Horus Heresy and none have turned traitor since. This leaves treaty with xeno navigators, risky for all concerned, treaty with warp-things, feasible but tricky, or a slow warp jump computer, most likely.
- How will I get back to my Chapter? It's a big galaxy. If I am still in the Imperium I can find my way home in the fullness of time. A lot of the galaxy is not Imperial.
- Before I left my brothers they were under attack by traitors. I hope they survived. I miss Chapter Master Cain Corby Sternist. He is the third CM I have outlived. I have seen Jophiel, Arthur and now Sternist die at the hands of traitors. There is no greater sin than treachery. At least the Inquisition got that right.
- I wonder who the next CM will be. I remember Sternists first words to me; 'How the hell did you ever get to be a Marine?'
Day 207
- I have figured out what I am going to do. I am going to find whatever is steering this tub and kill them/it. If we are in orbit of a planet next time we hop back into reality I will nick a thunder hawk and land and then figure out what to do from there.
- I think I will head for the control centre of the ship. I will hopefully find some Alpha Marines along the way. I will kill them, thus taking a bit of retribution, or they will kill me, thus making the problem of escape irrelevant. To every silver lining there's a cloud.
- Butchered several abominations on the corridors. God I love being armed, even if it is only with knives. Was it not the Fallen Angron who said 'I am not getting violent, I'm just getting creative with weapons.'
- I can hear chanting. Following the sound.
- God I hate this ship. The walls are dark red the graffiti is any colour and sometimes glows and all and the lighting is inadequate. The corridors are all wonky. They snake around and seem to follow no sense of order at all. And the walls and roof are not even slightly level. And the floor is un-even.
- Following the sound of chanting. It is getting closer now.
Day 208
- Not entirely sure what just happened then. Seem to have blacked out. I am now holding a Chaos Marine bolter, I am covered in blood and there are a lot of people, all women of various ages between 14 and 60, naked (WHY, OH WHY DO I NOT HAVE MY CAMERA WITH ME!!) staring at me with expressions of hope, gratitude and/or awe on their faces. Did I just miss something fun?
- They have a really awful grip on High Gothic. From the accent, which is heavy enough to float rocks on, I would say they are speeking a language that descended, or later formed, Fenrisian. As I do not speak a word of Fenrisian or related languages this is not entirely helpful.
- I am getting the picture now. They were having their throats cut and were being pushed down a big pit in the floor in some sort of blasphemous ritual to ensure safe warp travel. Then I smashed the door down and butchered all the priests and a squad of Chaos Marines. I must have gone berserk. That's not something I do often.
- On the positive side I now have a big gun. And did the mighty Dorn not say 'If you can not dazzle them with brilliance, riddle them with bullets.'
- I will not, however, wear the traitor armour. Not unless the ornamentation has been scraped of by a Cog-Brother, looked at by a Librarian and soaked in bleach for a month. Just to make sure no one is doing a Thousand Sons.
Day 209
- Gave all the women the weapons the other marines and priests were carrying. This part of the ship is ours.
- These women know how to use weapons. They were a convent of the Chamber Millitant of the Imperial Church. The younger ones were just getting recruited when they were kidnapped from the Schola Pragmantim.
- It seems they all at least know how to fire a weapon, even if they can't aim worth a damn.
- Setting up a barricade in front of the door. This place has one door. These people are innocents and Chapter Mandate states that their safety now takes priority over plan to escape.
Day 210
- Going to cargo hall to look for oxygen masks. As soon as the captain notices that this bit of ship is not his the most effective thing to do would be switch the O2 cycelers off and let us choke.
- Went back to the cargo storage bay. I should probably find some clothes for the poor ladies as well.
- Found the emergency gas masks in the little alcoves in the walls. Found a box of overcoats. Got a Kreig passport stamp on the side. Bloody trigger happy nuke freaks.
Day 211
- After several trips back and forth everyone is now clothed and in possession of a gasmask.
- Told everyone to put gasmask on and keep it on. The potential for a gas attack is just too great.
- I have an idea. I have nearly 100 people trained to kill. We could capture the ship and fly back to imperial space.
- But there could be casualties. No. I will instead take the ship myself. I will sail it back to the Imperium on my own and go down in the history of my Chapter as the greatest marine who ever lived because I am going to capture an enemy ship with a 0 body count. Yeah, right.
Day 212
- Told the ladies not to let anyone in unless it's me. Everyone else gets a bullet to the head.
- Why do people go over to chaos? I mean why? Yes their is the power and the satisfaction but the price... oh the price of soul and mind and body. Surely not worth it.
- I am wondering if I did the right thing leaving them there. I do not know how long I will be. What if I am not back and, because I left them, they starve? Such a thing is tantamount to murder. How do I even know where the damned control point of the ship is? How long will I be?
- This ship is a labyrinth. On the positive side I have ambushed 3 more Traitor Marines. One by kebabing his head (the fool had his helmet off), one by a point blank shot to the chest and the last was me waiting inside a storage cupboard for him to walk past and me shooting him through the door.
- That was fun for all of five minuets. No, wait. It was fun right till the first one put a hole in the right side of my chest. I can see the bone. And squishy things.
- This is just as boring as being back on the Sharp Blade. At least on the Chapters ship there was no risk of mortality.
Day 213
- Think I am getting closer to the command centre. This bit of the ship is in slightly better shape. Almost looks like it has been swept some time in the last 10,000 years.
- No this is not the case. I am just getting closer to the outside of the ship. I have a view of space from this window. So we are out of the warp. Possibly to get our bearings if I am on a ship with a slow warp drive. Or maybe because I have stopped their method of bribing the deamons of the warp.
- Pretty stars. Like dandruff on the shoulders of the universe.
- Is that star moving? And getting bigger? And heading right for us?
- HOLY CRAP!! It's a ship!
- Its now pulled up right next to this ship and is firing boarding craft across.
Day 214
- I am running down to meet them. This could be a survivable way off this crud tub.
- Can hear heavy weapons fire and the thud of heavy power armoured boots.
- The hole in my chest makes whistling sounds when I breath.
- I hope to the Throne it is not the Dark Angels. Damn cross dressers.
Day 215
- Turns out the Chapter caught up with us. Which was nice.
- As I write this is am lying on an apocarathy work slab having half a dozen bolt holes closed because of Brother Keels lamentable skill at recognizing one of his own Battle Brothers and my left arm re-attached because Brother Victor got a bit enthusiastic with the power claws.
- Got another medal for saving the loyal servants of the Emperor on the ship. Then got all my debts removed for stopping the ship so my brothers could catch up.
- Got told there was only one casualty of the whole attack. The body of Chapter Master Sternist will be placed in the catacombs. His gene-seed has returned to the Chapter. May he dream his way to Heaven.
I will be glad to go home. If I remember rightly we all still have one day of the annual holiday left.