As he advanced down the corridor of the Space Hulk, Simon could hear his breathing in the helmet of his armored Void Suit. The armor on the suit would provide scant protection against the claws of genestealers.
And there were certainly genestealers on this Space Hulk. Other groups had encountered them, and that was the whole reason they were there, to test out Sara's ability to disrupt the synaptic connections between Tyranid organisms. Augustus had decided that genestealers would be a good place to start, as they were usually disconnected from the main Tyranid Hive Mind.
They were walking doube-file down the hallway. Four stormtroopers were leading the formation, with Simon and Maren behind them. Sara was behind them in there Tyranid Warrior from, wearing a specially modified mess of Void Suits Venatus had fabricated for her. Behind her were Augustus and Venatus, then six more stormtroopers.
The Stormtroopers were draw from the same group that had seen Sara in the warehouse. They had been sworn to silence on the matter, though Simon had talked to each member of the group separately. Their reactions had been universally suspicious, though their suspicion was tempered somewhat by the fact that Sara had arguably turned the tide in the battle with the Cultists.
Now, they were slowly working their way through an outer layer of a Space Hulk. They had detected an active power reading in this particular mostly-intact ship, so that was where they were focusing their efforts. They were getting close to the power reading, so everyone was on guard.
One of the stormtroopers holding a motion detector stopped short and held up a hand. The rest of the squad immediately halted, raising their weapons.
"I have contacts." He sent over the squad. "Three, five, coming this way from the front. They're..."
Simon prepared himself to draw on the power of the Warp as the trooper paused.
"They're on top of us?" The stormtrooper said. "Maybe it's an error. This thing says that they're-"
Simon caught a flash of motion out of the corner of his eye. As he looked upward, he saw a set of claws slash through the material of the ceiling.
Two things happened at once. Genestealer claws flashed through the ceiling, collapsing it and sending the monsters raining down on the squad. Simon threw out a mental shockwave, momentarily stunning at least some of the genestealers.
As genestealers fell on the squad amid the ruins of the ceiling, the stormtroopers tried desperately to bring their short carbines to bear on the genestealers. Two of the humans and one of the monsters were down before they knew what was going on.
One of the genestealers fell next to Simon. He channeled power into his Staff and brought it down on the creature's head. Psychic energy flared, and Simon felt something give.
As he marshalled further psychic power, he watched as the two remaining lead stormtroopers were slashed apart in eerie silence. Just as the head of the last man separated from his body, Simon fired a bolt of witchfire, knocking the genestealer back in a burst of eldritch light.
At the same time, Venatus caught a falling genestealer in his mechadendrites and tore it apart. A fourth genestealer dropped on the rear guard of stormtroopers, Augustus whirled around, leveled his Archeotech pistol and fired, destroying the genestealer.
Simon looked up and spotted another genestealer about to leap down on the group.
"Sara, now!" Simon sent.
Sara looked up at the approaching genestealer.
The creature approached the edge of the hole in the ceiling and jumped.
Simon raised his staff as the genestealer fell.
The creature hit the ground and collapsed, twitching.
"Um... what do I do now?" Sara asked. "I think I did it."
"Try to make it do something." Simon said.
Sara closed her eyes and focused on the Genestealer. She tried for several minutes to make it stand, or even move a claw, but all it did was twitch. After several minutes, Augustus raised his pistol and fired a blast into the genestealer.
"She wasn't going to control it any time soon." Augustus explained. "And we're still in a combat zone. We need to capture one of these things and work on this in a controlled environment."
"Does that mean the mission's over?" Simon asked.
"No." Augustus said. "We still need to figure out what is producing the power signature. We need to meet up with another team and keep moving."
"Alright." Simon said, glancing down at his wristcomp. "It shouldn't be too much further, and there's another team nearby. Let's keep moving."
After meeting up with the unbloodied team of stormtroopers, the group continued their advance, eventually coming to what looked like an internal airlock. Two stormtroopers were moving forward with Melta bombs when Venatus spoke.
"Do not destroy the airlock." He warned. "I am registering atmosphere beyond this door. Valuable artifacts may be destroyed if we compromise the pressure seal."
"Can you get the door open?" Augustus asked.
"Affirmative." Venatus said, approaching the door and extending his mechadendrites.
Venatus removed a panel from the control terminal of the airlock and began to interface with it, sparks flying from the ancient machinery. After a few minutes, the airlock began to slide open.
The group filed into the airlock. Simon looked around nervously as Venatus stepped into the chamber and began working on the internal control panel. What could be waiting for them on the other side? He raised his plasma gun as the internal door slid open.
He was greeted by a wall of wards. Shimmering symbols hung in the air in front of the exit to the airlock, forming what appeared to be a hexagrammic wall against malignant Warp entities.
Simon held up his hand, and the entire squad froze.
"Wards." Simon said. "Lots of them."
"Can you disarm them?" Augustus respond.
"I think so." Simon said, reaching out with his psychic power. "Give me a second."
That wards were powerful, but they were also old. Much of the power they had once been vested with had faded, and once he realized that, Simon was able to unravel the weaves very quickly. As the last of the symbols in the wall ahead of them faded, Simon waved the squad forward. They walked for a few minutes without incident.
"We are closing on the location of the power source." Venatus said, gesturing with a mechadendrite at a bulkhead set into the wall. "It should be just beyond this hatch."
"Simon? Anything?" Augustus asked.
Simon shook his head. "I'm not reading anything."
"Venatus, open it up." Augustus commanded.
Venatus extended a servo-arm tipped with a plasma cutter towards the door. Sparks flew as the jet of superheated material touched the door, which began to glow cherry red as Venatus passed his plasma cutter around its edge.
After about a minute of cutting, Venatus kicked the hatch in, knocking to the floor with a clang.
The squad began to advance through the door. They fanned out into the large open space beyond the door, the lights mounted on their Void Suits wholly insufficient in piercing the darkness filling the chamber. Venatus activated several powerful lights on his harness, but it still was barely enough to see by.
Somehow, Simon found himself near the front of the formation. Thus, he was the first to stumble on one of the devices. It was a box, about three meters long, that rose out of the floor about up to waist height, with a cylinder reaching half again as high lying nestled in the box running most of the length of the box.
The cylinder was made of an opaque glassy material, and the rest of it was made of the same dull metal as the rest of the ship's surfaces.
And the whole thing was radiating a power signature.
Simon reached out with his Psychic senses. The stasis chamber was warded with archaic versions of what Simon recognized as benign wards against intrusion and Warp entities. As he examined the device more closely, he spotted something that made his blood run cold.
Embossed on the top of the cylinder was the seal of an empty sunburst.
The symbol of the Thousand Sons Legion Astartes.
Before the Horus Heresy.
Simon opened a secure comms channel to Augustus. "Sir, I think you need to see this."
"What is it?" Augustus asked as he approached.
"Sir, I found the power source." Simon explained. "And it's engraved with the symbol of the Thousand Sons. Pre-Heresy, sir."
Augustus dashed across the room toward the stasis pod. He looked down at it, his expression impossible to judge behind his armored helm.
"Venatus, get over here." Augustus sent over the squad network. "Call in another platoon of stormtroopers."
[x]
Fifteen minutes later, nearly forty stormtroopers formed a half-circle around the stasis pod. Venatus knelt before the device, servo-arms and Mechadendrites interfaced with the machinery he had exposed at the base of the stasis tube.
"Anything?" Augustus said.
"The internal chronometer on this device is nonfunctional." Venatus responded. "However, judging by the particle buildup on the stasis field, it has been active for centuries, at a minimum."
"Does that mean this isn't a pre-Heresy Marine device?" Sara asked. "Simon said that the Horus Heresy was ten thousand years ago."
"Not necessarily." Augustus said. "A space hulk spends much of its time in the Warp, where time flows much more slowly. A few centuries would be about right if this device has been active since the Hersey."
"Huh." Sara said. "This is confusing."
"I've almost deactivated the stasis field." Venatus said. "Stand ready."
The surface of the opaque glass top of the stasis field became lighter, and misty patterns began to appear on its surface. There was a hissing sound, and the glass top of the stasis tube began to split down the middle as it opened.
Mist began to pour out of the widening gap between the sections of glass, and within seconds, the quarter-sections of glass had retracted all the way, revealing the fog-shrouded interior of the stasis tube.
Nothing happened.
Augustus looked down at the pod, then gestured Simon forward.
Raising a psychic shield around himself, Simon walked toward the stasis pod and looked down into its fog-shrouded interior.
As the mist cleared, Simon saw that the interior of the Stasis pod, scaled for an Astartes, was covered in cylinders, each about sixty centimeters long and perhaps twelve centimeters across, with a handle attached to one end.
Simon reached out with his psychic senses and examined the inside of the pod. Nothing inside seemed to be tainted, but there were tiny psychically reactive specks inside each of the cylinders. Simon tallied them quickly, he counted fifty per cylinder.
"What are these?" He muttered.
Augustus stepped up next to him and looked down at the contents of the stasis pod.
"I have no idea." Augustus muttered.
Venatus stood up from the control panel of the stasis pod and joined Augustus and Simon.
"Cryogenic storage capsules." The techpriest said. "Used to maintain small samples of organic material for long periods of time."
"What would be in them?" Simon asked.
"I would need to check their labels." Venatus said. He paused for a moment. "I don't detect any traps. It should be safe to remove one."
"Should I?" Simon asked.
"Do it." Augustus said.
Simon reached down and picked up one of the cryogenic capsules, lifting it into the air. It was made of a pristine white material, with several lines running down its length.
Venatus extended several mechadendrites toward the cylinder and began scanning it. Several moments passed before he spoke. When he did, it was a shallow, breathless tone.
"By the Omnissiah." He said. "It's Gene Seed. Of the XV Legio Astartes."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Maren, who had been silent for most of the proceedings, spoke.
"The XV Legion were traitors, were they not?" She said. "We should destroy this Gene Seed and leave this place."
"I'm not sure-" Simon began, "Wait. Do you hear that?"
A deep clanging sound was echoing out of the open door of the room with the rhythm of footsteps. Slowly, every member of the group began to turn around.
Walking in through the unusually high door of the room was a Contemptor Dreadnought. It stood three times the height of a man, with a massive power fist making up one arm and an Assault Cannon on the other. The symbol of the Thousand Sons was emblazoned on his frontal plate.
"WHY DO YOU SEEK TO DESTROY THE ESSENCE OF MY BROTHERS?" The Dreadnought boomed. "WHY DO YOU SPEAK OF THE XV LEGIO ASTARTES AS TRAITORS?"
"You mean you don't know?" Simon muttered, "The Thousand Sons turned to Chaos in the face of the Space Wolves' attack on Prospero."
The Dreadnought took a step back. "THE SONS BETRAYED THE IMPERIUM?"
Simon nodded.
"THEN IT IS AS WE FEARED." The Dreadnought said. "AND I AM THE LAST OF MY LEGION. TELL ME WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED AS I SLEPT."
"That... might take a while." Simon said. "See, the betrayal of the Thousand Sons was ten thousand years ago."
"SO LONG? I-" The Dreadnought seemed to hesitate. "IT IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE. WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS TOWARD THE GENE SEED? I SHALL NOT ALLOW YOU TO DESTROY IT."
"We will not." Augustus said. "What we will do with it remains to be seen."
Simon's comm crackled to life the second Augustus finished speaking. "Check if he's lying." Augustus ordered.
"IF YOU INTENTIONS ARE BENEVOLENT, THEN TELL ME OF THE FATE OF MY LEGION."
Augustus took a deep breath. "It all began when Magnus the Red attempted to warn the Emperor of Horus' treachery. However, this violated the Emperor's decree at the Council of Nikaea, and..."
[x]
"I SEE." The Dreadnought said. "THIS MUST NOT STAND. MY LEGION MUST BE REBUILT."
"The resources required to found a Chapter of Space Marines are considerable." Augustus said. "I am a man of considerable resources, but that would be beyond my grasp."
"THIS SHIP CARRIES A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF ASTARTES WARGEAR."
"But how would we train the Marines? Who would implant the Gene seed?" Simon asked.
"I CARRY FULL RECORDS ON THE IMPLANTATION OF GENE SEED AND TRAINING MANUALS FOR THE THOUSAND SONS LEGION."
"You just carry those around?" Simon muttered.
"IT SEEMED... NECESSARY."
"Still. How do we know we can trust you?" Augustus asked. "The Thousand Sons are traitors, after all, and are renowned for their guile."
"I DIDN'T ATTACK YOU ON SIGHT." The Dreadnought said. "AND BESIDES, YOU WOULD HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER THE TRAINING OF THE NEW MARINES. YOU COULD ENSURE THAT I DID NOT INDOCTRINATE ANY OF THEM TO CHAOS, WERE I TO BE A TRAITOR."
"He's not lying." Simon sent. "And he's making no effort to hide his intentions. I think we can trust him, or at least go along with his plan for now."
"Fine." Augustus said out loud. "But first, I want to see this wargear. And on the way, you're going to tell us your story. Gather up this gene seed."
The stormtroopers each loaded a tube of gene seed onto their backpack locks, then took up formation as the group marched out, the ancient Dreadnought at the head.
"I WAS STATIONED AT A TERTIARY ARMORY ON PROSPERO WHEN THE SPACE WOLVES ARRIVED." The Dreadnought began. "WHEN THE WOLVES ARRIVED, MANGUS SHUT DOWN THE PLANETARY DEFENSE GRID. AS THE WOLVES BEGAN REDUCING THE ORBITAL FORTS, THE COMMANDER OF TERTIARY ARMORY ALEPH ORDERED THAT THE COMPANY OF MARINES PRESENT WOULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE BATTLE."
So far, Simon could not detect a single untruth in his narrative. "So where did you get the gene seed, them?" He asked, still working to detect any lies the Dreadnought uttered.
"THERE WAS A DISUSED MAINTENANCE TUNNEL THAT LED TO THE MAIN COMPLEX. WE SENT A TEAM IN TO INFILTRATE THE GENE LABS AND... ACQUIRE A PORTION OF THE GENE SEED."
"Why would you do that to your own Legion?" Simon said.
"THEY HAD ALL GONE MAD, LUSTING FOR THE BLOOD OF THE WOLVES. I AM STILL UNCERTAIN OF THE REASON, BUT THEY WISHED FOR A BATTLE THEY HAD NO CHANCE OF WINNING." The Dreadnought said. "OUR CAPTAIN DETERMINED THAT, IN THEIR HANDS, THE GENE SEED WOULD NOT SURVIVE. I BELIEVE HE WAS CORRECT."
Simon could still detect nothing but truth in the Dreadnought's words. It seemed impossible, but could the ancient warrior actually be telling the truth?
The group had come some distance through the pressurized portion of the Space Hulk, and now stood before a door.
"THIS LEADS TO THE MAIN HOLD. IT SHOULD REMAIN PRESSURIZED, BUT BE ON YOUR GUARD."
The door cracked with a slight hiss of pressure equalizing, and slowly slid open. Several powerful lights on the dreadnought's frontal chassis activated, illuminating the gloom as the group entered.
They fanned out as they entered, looking around at the massive space. Tanks sat in silent rows down one side of the hold, and the other was dominated by large black boxes standing in evenly spaced rank and file like soldiers at attention.
"THIS IS ALL WE COULD SALVAGE OF THE ARMORY." The Dreadnought boomed. "IT IS PARTLY PORTION OF THE WARGEAR OF PROSPERO, BUT IT IS A START."
Venatus stepped forward. His expression was impossible to make out through his Void Suit, but Simon imagined that he looked like a juvie in a candy dispensary.
"What do you have here? Do you know?" Venatus asked, turning to face the Dreadnought.
"TERTIARY ARMORY ALEPH HOUSED SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE SUITS OF NEWLY DELIVERED MARK IV MAXIMUS POWER ARMOR," The Dreadnought said. "IT ALSO POSSESSED SEVENTY-FIVE SUITS OF NEWLY MANUFACTURED TARTAROS PATTERN TACTICAL DREADNOUGHT ARMOR. WE MANAGED TO SALVAGE ALL OF IT."
"Tactical... Dreadnought... Armor." Venatus said slowly. "You just said that you have seventy-five sets of Terminator armor here."
"THAT IS CORRECT. WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL DOZEN COMBAT VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT."
"First priority is getting this gene seed back to the ship." Augustus said. "Then we need to get these vehicles out of here. Then we'll talk about building a Legion."
[x]
After escorting the gene-seed back to the ship and locking it down in the ship's vaults, the group, plus the Thousand Sons Dreadnought, returned to the main cargo hold with several of Venatus techpriest acolytes and began examining the vehicles and armor in the hold.
"All told," Venatus said to the reconvened group, "The status of the material in this hold is rather unfortunate. Perhaps a tenth of the suits of Power Armor and Tactical Dreadnought armor are ready for use with the simple replacement of volatiles and reactor fuel. The others will require a significant investment of work to return to combat-ready conditions. As for the armored vehicles, those based on Rhino chassis will be rather easy to repair or replace, but the more sacred vehicles will be more difficult to combat conditions."
"What sort of armory are we talking about here?" Augustus asked.
"I have taken the liberty of producing lists." Venatus said.
One of his mechadendrites reached into a pouch on his harness and removed a stack of papers and began handing them to the various members of the group. Simon looked down at his list. It read:
75 Rhinos, easily repaired or replaced
25 Predators, easily repaired or replaced
100 Jetbikes in various conditions
30 Javelin Attack Speeders, 29 in poor condition
16 Sicaran tanks, 15 in various non-functional states
7 Land Raiders of various models
5 Storm Eagles in poor condition
5 Fire Raptors, 4 in poor condition
2 Spartan Assault Tanks, critical condition
2 Fellblades, critical condition
1 Thunderhawk, critical condition
"This is quite the collection." Augustus said. "How much of this gear can we repair on the Archon?"
"Only a small portion." Venatus said. "We lack the necessary manufactoria to enact repairs. We would need a planet with considerable industrial facilities."
"What about a factory ship?" Simon asked. "I mean, if we could find a ship even close to the size of the Archon, that would pack a lot of industrial gear. It might even have the refineries to smelt the metal we would need to repair this equipment."
"That's actually a good idea." Augustus said. "I need to check if there are any ships like that for sale in this sector, but it could work. It would enable us to maintain the secrecy this endeavor would require, with no loss to productivity."
"THIS IS AN ADEQUATE PLAN." The Dreadnought said. "THERE ARE SEVERAL RELICS ABOARD THIS VESSEL THAT COULD BE USED TO FINANCE THIS PROJECT."
[x]
"So," Maren said the airlock, "You don't really trust that Dreadnought, do you?"
"Of course not." Augustus said. "He's a member of a Traitor Legion. I'm tempted to just melta bomb him, but I don't think the time is right for that just yet. I'm willing to work with him, for now. If we could from a new chapter of the Adeptus Astartes with the power of the Thousand Sons, that would be a great boon for the Imperium."
"Still." Maren said. "It's probably a Chaos plot. The Thousand Sons are only a negligible threat to the galaxy, compared to the other traitor legions, because of their small numbers and disorganized nature. If we provide them with a fresh source of recruits..."
"That's something we need to be one guard for." Augustus said. "I believe the potential benefits of this outweigh the manageable risks."
"And how exactly do you plan on managing that risk?" Maren asked.
"First of all, careful monitoring of the recruits." Augustus said. "I was a Daemonhunter once. I know how these things work. I think we can indoctrinate the recruits to be loyal more efficiently than one Dreadnought can secretly brainwash then to Chaos."
"And if you're wrong?"
"What's the worst thing that could happen?" Augustus said. "We all die? That particular risk has never bothered us before. The number of the Thousand Sons doubles from miniscule to tiny? They still barely compare to the Black Legion. We need every edge we can get, and this could be big one."
"I will support you in this." Maren said. "But I still think this is a bad idea."
"I've actually put some thought into this." Augustus said.
"Still, you're ignoring the logistical difficulties of this operation." Maren said. "Where are you going to get a factory ship? Where are we going to find thousands of potential psychic recruits for this Chapter?"
"I have a few ideas." Augustus said.
[x]
Simon stood next to the Thousand Sons Dreadnought, whose name he had learned to be Rashaken, watching as a Rhino APC was floated out of the cargo bay. There was, of course, insufficient power in the Space Hulk to open the massive cargo bay doors, but a diffuse blast from the Archon's Lace Battery at minimum power and a few melta bombs had fixed that.
"So," Simon said, watching as a pair of spacesuited figures maneuvered a second Rhino out of the bay, "What was it like, Campaigning with the Emperor?"
"I NEVER ACTUALLY MET HIM." Rashaken sent over the tactical network, which he had been patched in to. "BUT TRAVELING TO DISTANT WORLDS, MEETING INTERESTING PEOPLE, AND BLOWING THEM UP IN THE NAME OF THE IMPERIAL TRUTH WAS CERTAINLY... EXCITING, I SUPPOSE."
"Traveling the Galaxy and bringing new worlds into the light of the God-Emperor." Simon said. "It must have been wonderful."
"...GOD-EMPEROR?'
"The God Emperor of Mankind?" Simon said. "That master of humanity? You campaigned when he was still alive. What are you asking?"
"THE EMPEROR HATED BEING WORSHIPED. HE HATED ALL RELIGION, BUT THE WORSHIP OF HIM ESPECIALLY. THAT WAS THE IMPERIAL TRUTH."
"What are you talking about?" Simon said. "The Emperor is the God of Mankind and always has been. Why would he hate being worshiped."
"HE BELIEVED THAT RELIGION WAS THE CAUSE OF TOO MANY OF HUMANITY'S GREAT FAILINGS AND CONFLICTS IN THE PAST."
"But that's ridiculous." Simon said. "People are people. They'll always find a reason to fight. Religion is just one of the reasons. Besides, the only reason that humanity has lasted this long is because of the worship of the Emperor. He protects us from Chaos and gives us the strength to fight the enemies of mankind."
"THE WILL OF THE EMPEROR WAS THAT RELIGION BE BANNED, AND I SERVE THE WILL OF THE EMPEROR." Rashaken said. "THAT IS ALL I NEED TO KNOW."
"But don't you also serve the people of the Imperium?" Simon asked.
"YES."
"Well, what the people of the Imperium want is to worship the Emperor." Simon said. "Doesn't that mean anything? Besides, a lot of things have changed since the Great Crusade. This is one of those things."
"BUT IT IS A BETRAYAL OF THE CORE TENANTS OF THE GREAT CRUSADE AND THE IMPERIUM." Rashaken said. "HOW DID THIS COME TO BE?"
"I don't really know." Simon said. "I'm not sure anyone does. But it is what is, and it means a lot to me. If you wish to dissolve our understanding over this issue, I could understand that, but I would prefer that you don't."
"I MUST CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION." Rashaken replied. "BUT THE CONTINUITY OF MY LEGION IS IMPORTANT."
"I understand that." Simon said. "And the Thousand Sons had many unique abilities among the Astartes before their turn to Chaos. The Imperium could use those powers again. Many of our new foes are weak to psionics."
"ENOUGH OF THESE SOUR MATTERS." Rashaken said suddenly. "TELL ME OF THESE NEW ENEMIES. I WISH TO KNOW WHAT FOES HAVE ARISEN IN MY SLEEP."
"Well," Simon began, "The three big ones are the Necrons, the Tyranids, and the Tau. They're each pretty unique, but they're all threats. The Tau are a young race with high technosorcery, the Tyranids are an extragalactic race of organic weapons bent on devouring all life, and the Necrons are Crazy Zombie Death Robots with incomprehensible technology."
"SPEAK MORE OF THESE NECRONS. HOW HAS THE IMPERIUM FOUGHT THEM?"
"Well, they can teleport, and their infantry guns can mess with a Leman Russ, but bolters put them down just fine. Problem is, sometimes they get back up."
"GET BACK UP?"
"They are made of self-repairing materials." Simon explained. "If your shot doesn't damage core systems, they outer layers will reform to restore loft functions. I hear meltaguns work great, though, as they don't leave much behind to repair."
"I SEE." Rashaken said. "WHAT OF THEIR HISTORIES?"
"We know very little, unfortunately." Simon said. "They don't talk much, and their tombs are buried under miles of planetary crust with no physical access to the surface. Even when you can find your way in, they're full of lethal defenses, and your tunneling effort probably woke up the defenders. I heard someone was working on a way around that, but its probably impossible to go into one and survive."
"TROUBLING. I ASSUME THAT TWO-STAGE CYCLONIC TORPEDOES ARE USED?"
"That or the Eldar equivalent." Simon said. "The Eldar are the ancient foes of the Necrons. We've worked with the Eldar on occasion to thwart the Necrons."
"I WILL IGNORE THAT, FOR NOW." Rashaken said, as a Land Raider flew by. Simon got the distinct impression that he was grumbling. "I ASSUME YOU HAD A GOOD REASON."
[x]
Simon closed the door to his room and sighed. He had been required to use his mental powers on several occasions to help move stuck vehicles or other pieces of equipment, and genestealers had attacked on two occasions, forcing everyone to drop what they were doing and rally to defend the operation. However, all of the essential equipment had been moved, and they were going to work overnight to pull everything of value off the space hulk. Come morning in the ship's daycycle, they would blow the Hulk to kingdom come with the Archon of Dawn's heavy guns.
As he took a step into the room, Simon's eyes narrowed. He spotted a flash of motion somewhere in the shadowed interior of the room. His hand shot out and pressed the activation rune for the lights in the room and grabbed the handle of his sidearm with the other.
The lumen globes blinked on, revealing a figure in the air halfway between Simon and the far wall. It continued on its ballistic trajectory, and Simon had his pistol halfway to a firing position before he realized what it was.
The projectile struck Simon an instant later, nearly knocking him off his feet. He stepped backward, rolling with the kinetic energy of the impact. As Sara wrap her arms around his upper body, he groaned internally.
"Hi Simon!" Sara squealed, as she spun Simon around and landed on the floor.
"Sara, what are you doing here?" Simon asked, taking a step back from the Human Tyranid and shaking his head. "This is my room."
"I know, but I decided that I'd sleep here, remember?" Sara said. "Augustus just had my bed installed and everything!"
"Well thank the Emperor for that." Simon muttered. "Wait, what? We could have used that labor in looting the Space Hulk! Why did he do that at a time like this?"
"I don't know." Sara said. "But aren't you glad?"
Not particularly. Simon thought. "Umm, sure. So, why are you still here?"
Sara's face fell. "You mean you don't want to spend time with me?"
"No, that's not it." Simon said. "I'm just really tired from helping out with the Space Hulk is all."
"Ok, then let's go to sleep!" Sara said.
"Sure." Simon said. "Um, they're going to be blowing up the Space Hulk tomorrow. Do you want to go to the bridge to watch it with me?"
"Sure." Sara said. "I'd love to. It's a date!"
What have I gotten myself into?
[x]
"So, that describes the program I'd like you to establish." Augustus said, into the Astropathic relay.
He was communicating with a contact of his on a nearby planet, close enough to be within voice range of Astropathic communications. He was authorizing his contact to use his funds to establish a recruiting apparatus for screening young boys for psionic potential and inducting them into a training organization to prepare them, clandestinely, to become Space Marines.
How, exactly, he would get them away from their parents was a consideration for another time.
"I understand." His contact said. "I'll have people in motion come morning."
"Good." Augustus said. "You understand the need for discretion."
"Of course."