Chapter 3: Hidden Agenda
A dark, cloaked figure moved from the streets of Victor XXVII's lower hive quarters. It's shrill, and quick movements, seemed to carry a presence, but no physical weight, for they left no marks in the forlorn snow. Hurriedly as the figure passed two men in the greenish-gray garb of the Victor 363rd heavy infantry division, they followed suit after the figure, their newly received laspistols, withdrawing from within their thick fur coats. The figure continued it's vivacious run, while it's small head looked back at those following it. It's assailants noticing it's curious stare, aimed their laspistols, and let lasbolts, streak through the streets, towards the jaunty figure. Turning back the figure jumped up and fell colliding with one of the men, while the other fell a split second, before, the first's neck broke.
"crunch."The second's neck soon followed suit in the same manner as the first's.
Slowly the shadow-like figure rubbed it's hand on the great fur coat of the first man, then picked up the polished pistols of both dead men. Fingering the nice waxy polish of one gun, the figure put the other within it's cloak.. It soon left the seen, both pistols put away in some mysterious spot.
"Beep! Beeep! Beep! Beeep!" The exterior scanners of the cruiser searched the encompassing space that surrounded it's seemingly small hull.
"Have you found anything yet, boys!?!?!"Shouted Lt. Maxis Filander, across the cold steel deck.
"No!" replied a dozen trained voices.
The trained crew of the Emperors Compass, searched and scanned the area, where the Bartholomew's Hand, had mysteriously disappeared. Still nothing had been found after hour upon hour of continued search, by over 200 souls.
"Shit!"Murmured the Lt.
He was losing hope, and what little he had started out with was slowly fading away, like the past. Over 2 days ago this tiring, and grueling search through the quadrant known as 2536, where the Bartholomew's Hand, had last been detected, was hopeless. For all he knew, Lt. Maxis Filander might be doing this for the rest of his god-forsaken life.
Damn, thought the Lt., I never should've messed up on that riot mission. If not for that I would've gotten that god-damn promotion already. Looks like I'm doomed to this hell for awhile.
"Well keep looking!"
"Sir." Came the reply.
Suddenly, the Maxis, turned to his right, his mighty voice awakening a near by half-asleep 2nd class officer.
"Sergeant major Mills, I leave the bridge to you till' 2400 hours."
"Aye. Aye commander."
With that the stoic form of the Lt., left the bridge, his steps pounding against the interior hull.
Within his dull steel quarters, Lt. Filander withdrew to a room hidden deep behind mounds upon mounds, of storage crates. In front him, a large vid screen, and 2 side key panels lay, built in to the metal wall. His hands moving down one numbered keypad quickly pushed in the coordinates for one well protected vid channel.
A patch in the wall suddenly opened up revealing a scanning pad. With that the Lt., pressed his hand neatly against the bright, blue grid, for a short while before the scanner uttered a loud humming sound. Finished, the Lt., hurriedly circled around checking around for any ignored suspicious items, or beings. Turning back, he stared into the recently vibrating screen, his eyes concentrating on the new face that suddenly appeared on it.
"Ahhh... commander I did not expect to see your face so soon. So have you taken me up on your offer? Or have you come to beg for me not to erase the planet Victor XXVII from the very edge of humanity's fringe? Eh?"
"Colonel, when I contact you do not take it lightly. What you may do, even try, is of trivial concern to my mind.
"Then what is it you wish to know Lt.? Eh? Is it you have grown bored of this world and wish me to transfer you, to a more entertaining world, like the "whore house" of a world, such as Bargaras IX? Or do you just come for a pitiful talk from an intellectual mind of superior power?"
"Do not mess around with me Batel. You well know what I contacted you for."
"And what is that may I ask?"
"What have you done with the Bartholomew's Hand, and it's crew? Where is Commissar Brengar? What are his conditions, and those of his crew? Damn it! Answer me!"
"No need to get so uptight Maxis. After all over a dead crew for one thing."
"Dead!?! Have you no pity executing a crew of over 2000 strong!?! Why have you done such an atrocity to an Imperial ship and it's crew, after all even you still serve the crumbling Imperium?"
"For the first question, my answer is: Yes they are dead. The second: actually I have quite a lot of pity, I believe definitely more than one with such a meager intellect like you. And the third and final: Brengar, your close friend, and his sniveling crew of ingrates, drifted into my sector, where, as I told you before, the H.G., is almost done with it's long-awaited completion."
"How dare you shoot them down, over an old pile of junk. You might as well shoot my ship down too, at that, you yellow bastard."
"Normally Maxis, I would, but then again, don't you remember our friendship so long ago, on Garax Prime. So otherwise that is the only thing that keeps your rotting corpse alive, and it's crew of fools.
"Urgh..." The Lt., grunted as his hand moved to turn the vid channel off.
"Oh, by the way Lt., as we speak, your fellow conspirators against my wonderful self, are being eliminated."
Maxis' face suddenly turned deathly white.
"That's right," continued the all to overjoyed colonel, "Sergeant Major Theodore, Lt. Colonel Geving, Major Owari, and the rest of those shit-brained arses are dead, may I say. So may I say one more thing as to that; Lt., how's the family?"