A/N: I would just like to dedicate this Chapter to my beautiful new girlfriend, Jade. Although horrified to find out how much of a nerd I really am, she still loves me. Not only that, but she has been a great support to me during the past few weeks, ensuring that I get all my schoolwork done before I sit my all-important HSC exams in a few weeks (even though she distracts me more often than not!).
Continued thanks to Matt Coates, for keeping me inspired to finish this story. I won't be able to rest easy until I get this thing completed, and it's all his fault. Thanks, mate.
Oh, and a message to all readers. While I obviously appreciate reviews (who doesn't?), there have been a few reviewers who have just left a bad taste in my mouth. Please, constructive criticism only. If you simply think my story sucks, there is no need to be rude about it. Thank you, and on to the story! Two chapters to go!
Security level Omega 39 required…Password accepted
Greetings, Inquisitor
File Reference: Force Weaponry
Force weapons are a specialised version of the more conventional power weapon used by many races. As well as incorporating the disruption power field that is used by power weapons to bypass armour and flesh with ease, Force weapons (which are most often bladed weapons, such as swords and axes) also have a psychically-sensitive crystal lattice built into the blade. This allows a trained psycher to be able to use the weapon as an extension of their minds, sending bursts of intense psychic energy along its blade to tear apart the mind, body and soul of even the largest and most powerful of creatures.
Chapter Nine: Planetfall
"SEND THEM BACK TO THE HELL FROM WHERE THEY CAME!" Roared Idaeus, over the reverberating din of massed bolter fire. He raised his own weapon, took careful aim, then unleashed a bolt of bright green energy into the chest of one of the larger Daemons in the horde. It exploded in a burst of smoke, and two more took its place. These too were gunned down by hails of high-calibre shells, but there were always more.
Idaeus and his command squad had met up with squads Illiad and Gladius, and the thirty marines they comprised were currently holed up in what once was a spaceport terminal. Outside, over the landing pad, screamed a mass of clawed, hissing Daemons, each doing their very best to slaughter Idaeus and his troops.
A dozen or more would fall each time a salvo of bolter shells were fired from the windows by the desperate defenders, but the tide of horror never abated.
Idaeus twisted away from his place at the makeshift barricade, and another warrior took his place, with the pause in firing barely perceptible. The young captain let his empty magazine fall from his ancient weapon, and slammed a new one in its place. Realising that ammunition would not last much longer, he swallowed his pride.
"Strike Cruiser Deathhammer, this is Brother-Captain Idaeus. Please respond."
A hiss of static caused his heart to sink momentarily, then the communicator received a reply.
Brother Captain, this is the Deathhammer. What are your instructions?
"I have met up with Illiad and Gladius, and we are currently swamped by foul warpspawn. We require an immediate evacuation," Idaeus paused, as a grenade exploded violently nearby. "Our location is at Nav point Epsilon."
We copy, Brother-Captain, crackled the voice over the vox-net once more, We have a Thunderhawk en-route.
"JUST A LITTLE LONGER, SWORDS!" Idaeus yelled, returning to the barricade. As he thumbed the lever on his power sword, wreathing the weapon in a deadly haze of energy, the air was filled with the harsh buzzing of chainswords. Idaeus grinned, and sent another volley of bolts to rip into inhuman flesh as two massive explosions amongst the Daemons heralded the arrival of the gunship.
"FEAR NOT, SCUM!" He shouted to the remaining monstrosities, as the last of them were gunned down by the heavy bolters of the Thunderhawk.
"We will be back."
xxx
The sword looked heavy, a bulky length of silvery metal with a blade easily four feet long. Yet Hikari, clad in her silver EVA suit, lifted it effortlessly. The artificial fibre-bundle muscle system of the suit also handled the broad shield without difficulty, and the teen moved the two items around in her arms, getting used to the feel of them. Satisfied with her new equipment, she thumbed the small button located upon the hilt of the sword, and instantly its blade became enshrouded by a bluish haze of crackling energy. As Hikari gave it a few experimental swings, the weapon hummed as it cut through the air.
"Nice."
Hikari swivelled her head to see the speaker. Asuka, standing tall in her own blood-red suit, was spinning her own weapon around with envious dexterity. Beside her stood Touji, his jet-black armour contrasting vividly against the steel floor of the deck.
"Yeah, not bad. Not bad at all." He said lightly, as he slid his old, battered combat knife into its sheath, which he had been able to affix to his suit.
"An Artimis-pattern Force sword, and a H2-class Astartes storm shield. These should be sufficient for hand-to-hand combat, however the lack of ranged weaponry is unfortunate."
Rei stood against the far bulkhead, her hair and EVA suit matched in colour, a small frown gracing her features. Nevertheless, she meticulously checked her equipment, muttering a constant stream of prayers to the machine-spirits residing in her wargear.
"I can't even fire a gun properly," muttered Shinji in the far corner. "So that suits me fine."
Shinji's suit, a deep purple trimmed with lime green, completed the spectrum of colours in the otherwise dreary room. Candles and braziers mounted on the walls provided the only illumination, throwing flickering shadows throughout the chamber, glinting off the metallic surfaces of the EVA suits.
"Ah, so you are equipped. I trust you have all said the correct prayers to the almighty Omnissiah?"
The speaker, a bespectacled boy the same age as the chosen, had stepped into the room. Strangely for an acolyte of the Machine God, his body seemed to be free of any bionical implants.
"My name is Kensuke Aida, and I will be having the honour of aiding my superior in the upkeep of these magnificent artefacts you now wear." He bowed low to the group.
"However, at the moment Inquisitor Katsuragi wishes you to attend her. Please follow me."
Standing up straight, Kensuke pushed his glasses back up his nose, and paced out of the room. Hikari followed, as did the rest of the group immediately after her, their heavy footsteps reverberating around the cold metal deck.
xxx
Idaeus sighed. Still clad in his ornate power armour, he sat against a bulkhead in one of the many staging areas aboard the Golden Blade. While his strike force had banished hundreds of foul warp-spawn back into the immaterium, the price had been far too high. Fifteen Battle-Brothers of the Chapter had fallen, and only five of these had had their bodies recovered. Of the other ten, who made up Tactical Squad Dreimen, had been completely lost, their gene-seed never to return to the Chapter. To Idaeus, that was the greatest tragedy. Ten Battle-Brothers whose genes would not help to create the next generation, whose legacy would not live on. Idaeus's adamantine-clad hands were balled into fists, the pressure of which could easily crush a man's skull, and tears of fury cascaded down his face.
"Idaeus?"
The young Captain looked up with a start, and saw Kiel's face looming above him. Kiel's usual grin was absent, his brows knitted with concern.
"You did as well as you could have. We could not have known."
"I should have!" Idaeus's voice trembled with anger. "It was all my fault! Because of me… fifteen of our brothers died today. They were my responsibility, and I failed them. I failed all of you."
"Do not speak like that. Not one of us blames you in any way. Brother-Sergeant Illiad speaks praise of you even now."
"What about Dreimen? Does he sing my praises too?"
"Dreimen now is with the Emperor, and doubtless is blistering His ear as we speak."
Idaeus looked past Kiel, up at the ceiling. Great battles had been painted along its surface, showing some of the most revered of heroes the Swords of the Emperor had produced. The scene Idaeus now gazed upon depicted Azeroth, the first Chapter Master. He held a shining golden sword aloft, its light sheltering a half-dozen wounded marines sitting at his feet, each from a different chapter. Even from this distance, the heraldry of each warrior could be clearly made out. One marine bore the white and green of the Death Guard, while another the red and gold of the Thousand sons. Azeroth himself was girt in the grey and silver of the original Lunar Wolves, that traitorous legion which he had left so he could stay faithful to his true master, the Emperor.
Idaeus forced himself to think of his predecessor's sacrifice. They had turned their backs on their own brothers, giving up their very identity and everything they held dear. Because of this, ten thousand years later, Idaeus sat in the very ship that Azeroth himself had once commanded. It was a humbling thought.
"You… You are right, as always." He finally spoke, focusing back on his friend's face. "Mistakes remind us that we still have much to learn."
"And what is it that you have learnt, Idaeus?"
"That punishment is in order." He allowed a feral grin to twist his features. "When we return, those filthy Warp-spawn will wish that they had stayed away from the Swords of the Emperor."
xxx
In the inky blackness of space, where the light from the nearby star was little more than a faint illumination, a barely perceptible ripple could be seen, had there been anyone to see it. A faint outline, barely more than a ghostly shadow, formed where the short-lived diffraction had originated. The ghostly shape seemed to hang suspended for a moment, then a brilliant flash of iridescent colour ripped along its length, from bow to stern. Large engines, fully a third the length of the massive edifice, lit up with an orange glow, propelling the ship forward.
The ship itself held the air of speed and power, despite its massive size. Gunports bristled along its entire length, the mighty weapons recessed into the jet-black hull. A single image, painted in silver upon each side, showed the ship's allegiance. The skull and 'I' of the Inquisition glinted in the faint light of Sayda's star as the warship sped towards the inner planets.
On the small command deck of the ship, Inquisitor Katsuragi stood expressionless, her eyes fixed on the tiny dot ahead of the ship that was the planet of Sayda IV. The trip through the Warp had been an uneventful one, with only a week passing between leaving the Sol system and arriving at their destination. During that time, the half-company of Grey Knights on board had been hurriedly continuing the training of the young psychers, and even now, Misato was unsure if their combat abilities would prove to be sufficient for the task ahead.
Pursing her lips, the Inquisitor banished such thoughts. Time will tell. She thought to herself. And only then will we know.
A man cleared his throat quietly behind her, seeking to catch her attention. She turned, thinking to see an officer with a message. Instead, the entire command crew witnessed a sight rarely seen in the Imperium.
"YOU!" Misato screamed, her dignity and professional bearing completely forgotten. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
The man, completely unfazed by the Inquisitor's behaviour, gave a small bow.
"Well Katsuragi, it seems we meet again. Lord Ikari wanted someone to watch the show that you will be putting on."
The purple-haired woman seethed with rage, and the rest of the bridge crew went completely silent, their consoles forgotten. Even the Captain, who was used to transporting members of the Inquisition around the galaxy, began to edge away from her.
"Kaji…" she began, in a calm voice unsettling enough to cause a Cultist leader to cry, "Do you remember what I said last time I saw you?"
The unshaven man grinned disarmingly at her. "I believe it had something to do with a bolt pistol, and my face."
"Well then," Misato continued quietly, as she methodically pulled her weapon out of its holster, and pointed it at Kaji "This should not come as a surprise then."
Kaji ad the good grace to spread his hands before him, showing that he was unarmed.
"Remember Katsuragi, I'm an Inquisitor too."
Misato growled at him, then holstered her pistol. The bridge crew all relaxed slightly, letting out pent-up breaths as the returned to their workstations.
Misato turned her back on Kaji contemptuously, letting him know that his company was not wanted. The male Inquisitor, deciding that discretion was the better part of valour in this case, slipped away quietly.
"Err, ma'am?" one of the officers asked quietly, his voice wavering slightly. The Inquisitor turned, her face again set in an impassive mask.
"We have a message from the Battle Barge Golden Blade. They are demanding our codes."
"Then tell them that Inquisitor Katsuragi of the Insidious is requesting to dock, and wishes an audience with…" she turned to one of her aides standing quietly in a corner. "Who is the one commanding this strike force?"
"Captain Idaeus, of the Swords of the Emperor, ma'am." The young woman replied. Misato nodded, then turned back to the officer.
"I wish an Audience with Captain Idaeus."
"Yes ma'am, transmitting message now."
xxx
A/N: Well, that's that. Not sure about when my next update will be, It could be in two weeks or two months! I was originally going to make this chapter a bit longer, but the material I had planned will be in the next chapter, which is where it probably belongs.