Isis coughed and spat, trying to dislodge the dirt and dust that filled her mouth and lungs. Her body ached as she tried to sit up, a jagged piece of stone or metal jabbed her in the side.

'Isis!' Visius found her mind.

'I'm ok… I think..What happened?' Isis responded, her hand finding a warm wet spot on the side of her head.

'Imperials have entered the system and began targeting the base. Stay where you are, we are coming.'

"Tim?"

A chirp signified the skull was near her.

"Light?" she asked. With a soft click, one of the ocular devices gave out a beam of light.

She was just a little disoriented, but adrenaline was combating it well. Looking around she saw she had been buried.

Like a jagged mountain she began climbing the rubble, If she made it to the top she could hopefully….

A blast sounded, causing the ground to rumble and more rocks to fall.

Sliding back to the ground as more blasts happened, dislodging more rubble, she moved the only way she could. Deeper into the tunnels.

'I have to move away!' She sent Visius. 'It's causing more cave-ins!'

'Find another way out, quickly Isis. We will find our way to you.'

Visius was furious. She felt it in his thoughts. She didn't think he was with her, just at the situation. Maybe a little at her… She knew she was.

They had taken a vessel to the planet to speak with an emissary. The planet was beautiful for the short amount of time she saw it. The T'au settlement was a rather small one. Apparently they had just discovered the planet themselves and began settlement not long ago.

They had landed on a docking port of steel about several meters from the ground. The T'au reminded her of fish. Probably because their nose was…not where a nose would normally be… at least for a human. They were a blue gray color, rather short and lean.

They spoke with Visius about how the Greater Good led them here. She swore Visius was going to end it then and there but he allowed them to continue. Grudgingly

The T'au seemed long winded, or rather very eager to impress, for it took nearly two hours before they decided to move the counsel to a sitting area. They never arrived there.

The attack began just as they entered the building. Isis remembered the ceiling, in its alien design, crumbling, The metal they used, twisting and falling. Visius used his power and bulk to shield her. Though she was strong enough, she chided herself, she failed at being ready. She had been too slow to react.

The floors gave way as they tried to make their way back to the transport vessel. And she fell.

It was chaotic and dark. She wondered if there was anyone else with her? Buried under the rubble.

She didn't have time to look, as parts of the building came crashing down behind her.

Grabbing Tim she held him in her arms, using him like a flashlight, as she ran down tunnels, hoping to find a way out. She could still feel the rumbling and hear the thumps as explosions went off above her. She had no Idea how far below she was, so guessing the distance was, just that, a guess.

She slowed her run to a fast walk now the rumblings subsided. Stepping over debris and the occasional body made the hair stand up on the back of her head. She glanced at a body.

It was one of the aliens. She knew nothing of their physiology, but she knew when someone had been killed. This one had multiple blast wounds to the chest. To the point of his torso was barely connected. Leaving a mass of flesh. Isis jerked away and hastened her steps.

The vox, as they called their com units, cracked on Tim, and Visius spoke. "There are chaos forces on the planet, they had to have followed the Imperium here. We are trying to find a way to you. Have you found a way out yet?" The sounds of weapons fire and men yelling could be heard over the tranmission.

"No..I am still looking. It's a maze down here. I am hurrying." Her voice echoed down the tunnel, causing her to cringe at the sound.

Thankfully the planet was warm, and the tunnels were temperate. And the flak armor that Visius urged her to wear, was not overly hot. The tunnels she guessed connected from building to building. Or were used to move equipment. She passed boxes and storage shelves often. Alien letters or numbers were engraved upon the walls over doors that lead to rooms that housed food goods, and other equipment.

She grumbled to herself, she should have listened to Visius and stayed on the damn ship.

A T junction brought her to a stop, she looked to her left and right. Either way was Pitch. She focused on the direction where Visius was… To the right.

She turned to head that way when the sound of footsteps brought her to a halt. They were moving at a quick rate of speed, in her direction!

What sped her heart rate to a fast tempo was what they had with them. It reminded her of being on the ship when she first woke up here, in this time, on…the Black Ship.

A null.

She turned and ran. They had something that dampened her warp! Took it away! She was nothing without it! More than nothing, she would be dead!

The sound of the footsteps sped up, no doubt on her trail now. A scream was lodged in her throat as she passed the junction, heading in the opposite way she wanted to go.

Next junction she turned again as she felt them gaining on her quickly, with a push of warp, she tried to send a chunk of ceiling down behind her to block the way.

With a crash and a cloud of dust Isis fled down the hall, hoping it was not a dead end. She heard cursing behind her, female voices. She had to stay ahead of them! But they were so fast. The blockage did not hold them back for long and soon enough she heard them behind her.

Isis brought up a shield around her just in time for the sound of massive gun fire as rounds exploded in her ears and dislodged the scream that had been trapped in her throat. Her shield held, blocking exploding rounds that they continued to fire at her.

They were gaining quickly and with their proximity she felt herself weaken. Her shield began to fall.

Tim's light in her arms showed another junction, one to the left and one to the right.

To Isis' dismay parts of the ceiling had crumbled here making her footing clumsy.

She made to turn right, to push off the wall so as not to slow. She entered the junction and neared the wall, planning on making a sharp turn.

A sudden pain shot from her ankle and up her leg. She stepped wrong on a piece of rubble causing her to fall and smash into the wall.

Instinct and fear caused her to cover her head as she made it to her knees, Tim shot to the air and began to fire upon her pursuers as they entered the junction.

From the side of the junction came more firing, an ambush. The light and the sound of multiple guns was intense and her hands slammed over her ears. To her surprise they fired on her attackers, who had no choice but to defend..

Isis desperately fought to raise a shield, she only managed to raise a weak one with great strength.

Through the flash of weapons fire and Tims darting light, Isis was only able to see shadows.

Her attackers were feminine,three of them, their armor told her that. Fleur-de-lis was prominent upon their breast plate as it shimmered against reflecting light. One had no helm and had short stark white hair. They moved with deadly precision and agility.

But, they were no match for the larger beings who seemed to have come from out of the shadows.

The roar of an immense saw like blade tore through the air with such speed it was hard to fathom. One of the female fighters was unable to dodge, and the chain blade ripped into her side, eating away at her armor and flesh. The women hit their marks as well, divulging three other marines. They looked nothing like Visius' chapter.

The strength of the marines armor was astounding. The rounds from her pursuers left scorch marks and holes, but these marines were swift and brutal.

In a desperate act, Isis saw one of the women taking cover behind the corner, point her bolter at her.

With a rush of panic and strength, Isis reached inside herself and slammed the woman with such a force of warp that she flew backward and slammed into the wall, causing the pack on the back of her suite to become lodged into the steel of the wall.

Then, as Isis prepared herself to kill her, the head of her target exploded from a round that punched a hole right through the steel.

The fight was over…At least for the dead.

Isis desperately grabbed Tim and held him tightly in her arms so that it did not fire onto her unknown 'saviors', making a bad situation worse.

From her position, next to the wall, she watched the one with the gigantic chain blade bend over and pick up the upper half of the person he cut in half.

Isis saw, to her horror, she was still alive.

Still clinging on to her bolter, she raised it up to the marine, but swiftly he cut it off with the chain blade with honed accuracy. The bolter and arm clattered harmlessly to the ground to lay in a pool of her own blood.

It was hard to see these marines. They blended into the darkness as if they were molded from it and Isis' eyesight made it even harder for her to make out much details.

Looking away from the brutal scene Isis still heard everything.

"You will die, Triat-" The mutilated victim was cut off, being slammed into the wall. A voice, a whisper almost, slow and grated, responded, masked over by a rebreather he wore, heightening the volume enough to clearly be heard.

"There are two factions of chaos chapters battling each other, both are trying to enter into these tunnels…Including you…Why?"

Isis glanced up, seeing the shadows of the three Marines. One large marine with what looked to be a massive machine gun stood before her, she managed to catch a glimpse of hands and other body parts hanging from his waist. She averted her eyes to the other who stayed in the shadows behind. The one that spoke, his back to Isis, had a cloak of ink black that shifted in and out of the surrounding shadows.

She dared not shine Tims light on them, for fear they would dismember her for it.

"You would know more about the Black Legion then I, you all being traitors."

The victim seemed to want him to kill her, throwing insults at him like she was. Considering her state, death would be a mercy.

Looking behind, Isis saw the junction leading away had collapsed, leaving the only way out was past the marines. The one in front seemed to deem her not a threat.

Keeping her head down, Isis tried to move past them. She had only made two steps when a barrel she could literally put her head in, lowered in front of her face.

"You will stay, Freak, till you are told you can leave." The voice boomed, at least it sounded like it did, and Isis quickly stepped back. The one that was interrogating, turned a stern gaze upon Isis.

He wore no helmet, jet black hair fell around his face to his shoulders. He wore a skull rebreather around his mouth. His eyes, reflecting in the small amount of light, were completely pitch. Like pools of ink.

He turned back to his victim. "What's her story, Sister?"

The sister turned her head sluggishly and looked at the psyker. She wore no helmet and the look made Isis take another step back.

It was the look of a hunter, a predator. When the ultimate prey was there… just there, but forever beyond its reach.

She tore her gaze off Isis meeting the Marines once more. " She is a traitor. As you all are." her voice came out as a hiss.

"No, Sister. Your Imperium shunned us and labeled us traitors. Think what you like, " He chuckled in amusement, a horrible sound. "It is…a free galaxy."

His voice returned to its normal tone, all humor vanished. "Now, why is the Black Legion here?"

"They showed up just after your vile ship did, we suspected they were with you." She relinquished. Her tongue slurring on words now, her head sagging.

"No, Sister. They attacked us as well. What are you Imperials up to? You drew some interesting attention."

With a surge of energy, the Sister grasped his hand at her chest with her last one. Her eyes burned with hatred. "Go ahead and kill me… Show me just how loyal you are then. The Emperor's progeny have returned." She never tore her eyes away. " And they will cleanse your corruption from your 'free' galaxy! You will fall before the Imperium soon enough, and there will be no mercy, only fire."

"Ah…Is that what this is all about?…" His head slowly turned and looked down at Isis.

"Is it true witch blood?"

Isis was watching the Sister, her eyes wide with surprise at what she just heard. Her brothers! They were alive! Were they on their ship? She wanted to ask her where they were, are they ok?

But the question from the marine made her clamp her mouth shut, her eyes darted to him.

Witch blood? She looked behind her, was there someone else here she did not know about?

Nothing but rubble was behind her.

It dawned on her, he was referring to herself.

She swallowed. She had to play this smart. Hopefully she didn't just give herself away.

"I…She…That's the first I heard…Of…Them..That.."

She never hated herself so much until this moment. She felt her blood rise.

He turned back to the dying victim and leaned in next to her ear. "Thank you, Sister. You have been most helpful." With a clatter, he dropped her to the ground, and turned to Isis. Stepping on her bolter as he did so.

He approached and knelt down, bringing his face to eye level with her.

Tims light illuminated the front of this marine. He had dark leather that draped from his belt and hung between his legs And skulls that had been casted were attached to his knee guards. At his chest, another skull. This one with its jaw opened, showing sharpened fangs. Bat wings spread outward from the skull.

He extended his hand to her, his fingers, tipped with lethal long claws, opened like a bear trap.

"Now, come with me. We have much to discuss."

Isis looked at his opened hand. She might as well be putting her hand in a blender.

The dying sister across the floor moved slightly, using the last bit of strength she had to lift her head and released her death cry, "You will burn, Night Lord! You will all burn!"