Waaagh Meckenheim

[Friddel]

Part 13

Teleporting back aboard the Mako, the three Ordo Xenos teams moved off. The Deathwatch Marines made for their quarters, wishing to purify their weapons. Hagen headed for the bridge, unsure of what to expect next. The Stormtroopers either headed for their quarters or took off to take up guard duties.

A shudder ran through the corvette as it sped outsystem, taking a long loop to come in behind the Tyranid fleet. Despite being only a half a dozen ships, Malak knew from the bitter experiences of other Inquisitors, just one of those ships could subsume a world. Hagen entered, fearlessly standing beside the Inquisitor and looking out at the alien menace. "So, what is your plan from here?" he asked. The Inquisitor frowned, his eyes catching something on the longe range augers. "Isolate that signature" he ordered to the auto-savant beneath him. The image grew and resolved into a mess of welding, gun turrets, engines and ramming prows. The hulk looked like a combination of several different ships. Malak knew it to be something far worse. "Its an Ork Kill-Kroozer, and its not alone." Astropath Glavius sent him a message through the Warp. "There are another three hiding behind the Hive fleet?" he asked, gesturing. The Astropath merely nodded. Lacing his fingers, Malak bit his tongue. "Captain Xerxes and his squad are going on a hunting mission. Orks love nothing but war, and a little jolt in the right direction could turn the tide for us."

Now re-armed and their power armour expertly repaired, Deathwatch Team Xerxes waited silently by the teleport chamber. The Inquisitor stood before them. "Your orders are quite simple. Make your way to whatever passes for navigation on board that flying rock, and convince it to make a crash landing. Plant geno-types Sigma and Gamma into at least fifty Orks; i want survivors. Then hold the others off until we get around the psychic null of the Tyranid fleet. We will be able to teleport you safely."

Returning to the bridge, Malak opened a private vox-link with the Xeno-biologist. "Are they in place?" "All units are showing up green, they haven't been discovered or engaged anything. How will you channel the bugs towards them?" Malak laughed. "Its not a matter of me directing the Hive Mind, I simply provide them with ample prey, and the scent of blood. The Ork hybrids should guide them right into the heart of the conflict." Cutting the vox, he send a silent signal through the warp to several key installations on the surface. "Glavius, head to your null-chamber. I cannot prevent any attempts at corruption on you." The Navigator nodded and left with his servitors.

Heading for his own chamber, the Inquisitor deactivated a hight-tech containment field around one of his many possessions. Stasis fields hummed as they preserved a diverse range of alien specimens. A containment field rippled across the armoury mounted in the center wall. Numerous weapons nestled on several racks. Carefully manipulating the wraithbone, it contracted and coalasced in mid-air, rippling first pink, then a putrid green. A flash of dark red flowed across it, before it finally settled for an impenetrable black. A voice boomed from within it. "Yes, servant of the corpse-god?" Malak steeled himself against the daemon's attempts to corrupt him. "Sent a message to your master, Tzeetch. This world can become a daemon world, if only Chaos can defeat opponent none has." The warp-spawn cackled, a pair of soulless eyes probing from the convulsing wraithbone. "Why would the Lord of Change help you?" Malak smiled grimly, reciting the words with sarcasm. "I think he already knows that. I gain knowledge, power. If Chaos destroys the Tyranids on Pelucidar, they gain a relic of great value. No doubt my brethren of the other Ordo would wish for it to be destroyed, but I see no need for that. The artifact is housed deep beneath the main hive. Genestealers have infiltrated the lower levels, and if the Tyranids wipe out all other forces on Pelucidar, then it will most likely become another tool of theirs."

The daemon hissed, accepting the Inquisitor's logic. "What of the Orks?" Malak waved dismissively towards the doomed planet. "Cannon fodder. I merely needed a suitable diversion to hold up the Tyranids until Chaos could adequately manifest. However" said Malak, his voice serious, "my research facilities are not to be tampered with. Any corruption or attempted assault upon them by the forces of Chaos will deem this agreement void. I will allow the Ordo Heretics Inquisitor and her forces to destroy it. Tzeetch either accepts the conditions, or I move on." The daemon let out another cackle. "The Lord of Change has plans for your Malak. On this occassion, let the agreement stand. However, you owe a debt to a God of Chaos. Do not forget that." The wraithbone quivered, then fell to the floor. Malak placed it back within its null-field, silencing the piercing cries of the trapped Eldar soul. Taking a psycannon and a null rod from the armoury, he left. "Magos, deploy a plasma cannon servitor and a heavy bolter. I am going to the surface." The Fabricator complied, ordering two gun-servitors from their recesses.

Hagen's belt vox-com barked. "Report to the teleporter bay. There has been a change of plan." Malak sent a message to Glavius over the vox, ordering him to teleport the embattled Deathwatch to a set location within Hive Belkan. "We have seeded the geno-types and captured the Ork Weirdboy. Orders?" said Xerxes over the sound of repeated gunfire. "Prepare for planetside deployment. You'll be needed to eliminate the Governor. Kill the psyker-choir as well; I want the Adeptus Terra to assume this world is dead." Xerxes sighed over the vox-link. Malak bristled. "The time for doubt is long past; there is only time to do what must be done. You have your orders, do not fail me." Malak swept into the teleport room, Hagen already there. "Inquisitor, what are we doing?" he asked. Malak ignored him, moving to the teleport array with his two servitors. "Hurry Guardsman, the enemy does not wait" he snapped, loading his psycannon. Beside him, both servitors activated their respective weapons. Standing beside the Inquisitor, Hagen cocked his weapon and waited. A flash of bright light, and within seconds, the four re-appeared within the hangar bay they had travelled through before.

Xerxes and his Marines deployed not far away, instantly taking up covering postions. Malak connected with the Mako once more. "No more direct communications, i cannot sense Inquisitor Isabella easily through the frenzy. If i contact Glavius, send Tarsis to the northern facility, Nero to be deployed to the eastern. I will make my way to the western base."

[Friddel]

Part 14

Deep within Hive Belkan, a fierce battle raged. Lasfire and explosions were met with the constant rattle of bolt weapons. "Inquisitor, a moment" shouted Palantine Kyrie over the battle-sounds. The Ordo Hereticus member turned and frowned. "I don't understand this. We just keep cleansing wave after wave, and they make no attempt to use heavy weapons or daemons. They just..sacrifice themselves." Kyrie shook her head. "Whatever they are doing, Isabella, it is for a reason." Few, if any living, called the Inquisitor by name. If not for the fact that they were cousins, long parted by war, the Inquisitor would have already executed the Palantine. "Well, they have to run out of bodies sooner or later" said Isabella coldly, as she watched another dozen heretics cut to pieces by co-ordinated bolter fire. One made it another four meters, before a flamer opened up and his ashes washed over the embattled Sisters. "Send Sister Superior Navelle and her squad around the right. I want to know what this filth is up to" ordered Inquisitor Isabella, clenching a fist.

A piercing whistle caused all present to look upwards, the heretics wisely running for cover, their brazen assault forgotten. "What by the throne is that?" said Isabella, drawing her bolt pistol. "Ork Roks, Inquisitor. But it is what falls with them that causes me greater concern." The Palantine gestured to the pod-like shapes, trailing tentacles and debris, falling in close formation. "Mycetic spores. Everyone into cover, now" ordered Kyrie, the Battle-Sisters complying. The Inquisitor fumed, a dark look crossing her face. "He's here, I can tell."

High above, Inquisitor Malak walked past the deadly melee of Hybrid and Imperial Guard, pausing only to clear Hybrids from his path. Xerxes and his squad took off in a different direction, faces set, bolter fire clearing a path through the brawl. Above them, three shadows carefully slew any hybrid that attempting to ambush the Deathwatch, talons raking out of the darkness. "Hagen, concentrate please" said the Inquisitor laconically, lazily blasting another hybrid to bloody mush as they continued. The Guardsman took aim and blew another mutant off his feet, a second convulsing as shot rippled across its skin. A bolt round blew its head apart, and the four continued. "Where are we going, Inquisitor?" asked Hagen again. Malak sighed, slicing a mutant in half with his crackling null-rod. "Obstacles do not remove themselves, soldier. Xerxes and his squad need to eliminate the last communication system left to this place; we need to eliminate the incompetent Governor." They made it to the blood-smeared turbo-lift, Malak dispassionately removing the body of the servitor from its slashed recess. "So...crude. A true killer could have dispatched it with a word" he commented, before pressing the button. The doors closed, just as the last remnant of the PDF forces in the hanger were brutally sliced apart, cutting off their death-screams. Hagen shivered. Although used to the horrors of war, the last sounds of dying men never left him, before or now.

The doors opened, revealing the inner sanctum. High up above the unwashed masses, the elite of Pelucidar could meet and discuss the fate of the hive. Additionally, they could rely on hand-picked Stormtrooper teams for security, as well as a personal taskforce from the Adeptus Arbites. "Ah, Inquisitor Malak. I am glad to have such a gallant defender of humanity beside us" said a booming voice. The owner deactivated his vox-caster, extending a hand. Malak walked right past him, instantly in control. "Bring me up external cams" he ordered, looking at the screens in front of him. On every flickering monitor, the same images of death and destruction, the only difference being the manner and the executioners. On many, Genestealers and their mutant followers rampaged through the underhive, ripping through PDF firebases and hive gangs with similiar ferocity. Many PDF squads retreated, only to be caught and massacred in a rippling tide of chitin and talons, as Gaunts spilled from their spores. On surface cams, Orks spilled from their crude drop pods, yelling and killing with joy, the power of the Waaggh! running through them. On yet more screens, Chaos cultists ran for their lives, sealing exits and bulkheads behind them, often cutting off stragglers to the merciless Genestealers.

On one cam in particular, a fierce battle raged. A PDF platoon could only watch with morbid fascination as Chaos retreated, and Ork met Genestealer head on. The resulting melee was close and brutal, neither loosing more than a few bullets or flesh-eating maggots, before choppa and Ork strength met razor-sharp talon and implacable numbers. Despite being outnumbered almost twenty to one, the Orks still kept the combat at a stalemate, as more Roks and spores rained down, many exploding before landing, as lascannon and autocannon from the Imperial Guard broke them open. The ineffectual fire from the PDF served only to break off small combats, which they had to work to repress. Resigned to being unable to affect the situation, the commander quietly retreated, moving back to HQ, the Commissar cursing and growling with displeasure at the pale-faced Guardsmen around him.

Malak smiled, taking in the death and dismemberment with callous interest. "Which sectors are comprimised?" he asked, Governor Rakan stuttering a reply. "Almost all the underhive no longer responds, and it is only a matter of time before they try the lifts." The Inquisitor did not reply, drawing his bolt pistol. "Governor, I need not remind you the price of failure. Your lack of foresight, and complacency left this world wide open to the attentions of our enemies." Governor Rakan bristled, his bodyguards shifting their poise slightly. "Inquisitor Isabella informed me that no Ork or Tyranid was present, before you arrived." Malak stared at the man, a look of pure fury on his face. "Governor, I have the power to blast your world to an airless, radioactive husk. Speak in a manner less disrespectful, and I may still have a use for you." Rakan quailed, his life flashing before his eyes. "What is it you wish, my lord?" he said, bowing. Malak frowned. "Make your way to the Astropath choir. My team is already there, providing security. Take all your senior staff and scribes; this control room will fall in time. From there, you can co-ordinate an effective defense of vital areas" The Governor nodded, and left, careful not to make eye contact.

Malak sighed, keying his vox-link. "Xerxes, are you in position?" "Yes, Inquisitor. Everything is as you ordered" came the reply, over the silence. Malak smiled. "Good, move out to your next position. Do not harm her, the Ordo Hereticus does not need any more goading." Xerxes cut the link. Around him, the piled bodies of the Astropath choir bled slowly into the floor. "Fabian, one shot to the head. Deja, finish the rest with your heavy bolter. Morghast, scout the elevator with Crucio. Delay that Inquisitor until we are finished." The team responded with status runes, moving out. The armoured doors opened. Governor Rakan walked in, his Stormtroopers close by, ever watchful. The rear pair only made it a few steps, before two sets of talons pulled them up into the shadows, their helmets muffling their cries. The rest continued unaware. "Captain Xerxes, I presume" said Rakan, cautiously waiting. The Astarte in front of him shook his head. Raising his bolter, Fabian loosed two rounds, both hitting the Governor in the head. His lifeless cadaver fell to the ground, two bloody holes drilled in his skull. Deja opened up a second later, ripping through the tight formation of Stormtroopers with ease. One ran, before a talon scythed down and plucked him screaming into the dark ceiling. "Move out" was all Xerxes said, sealing the blast door after the beasts and the team had moved through.

Crucio returned. "The Ordo Hereticus is here. And she's not alone." Xerxes raised an eyebrow. Crucio smiled viciously. "Those zealous harlots are here." Deja stood beside the Captain, heavy bolter held at port arms. "Inquisitor Malak said we let her through. So, we let her through the other way." Xerxes nodded, moving out of the choir-room, sealing it behind the team.

Inquisitor Isabella tapped her foot impatiently, her bolt pistol drawn and ready. The doors opened, revealing Xerxes and his squad waiting. "Ah, Malak's toy soldiers I see. How predictable." The Captain ignored the barb, getting to the point. "Inquisitor Isabella, the honorable Inquisitor Malak ordered you alone could pass." Beside her, Isabella felt Navelle and her squad tense. "These are my bodyguards. They come with me, whatever that worm says." Xerxes's expression did not change, but Deja racked back the slide on his heavy bolter, the meaning clear. "You think we fear you, Astarte? My sisters are more than capable of defeating you" snarled Navelle, all pretense at civility forgotten. Xerxes laughed. "You and..." he looked over her shoulder "eight battle sisters? Please, it would be a waste of our ammunition" he replied. Inquisitor Isabella stepped forward. "I'm coming through, with Squad Navelle. If you even think of stopping me, you will have the Inquisition to answer to. And this time" she added, an edge in her voice, "that weasel won't be able to wriggle out of it." Xerxes moved to block the Inquisitor. "Malak requested your presence alone." Crucio brought his plasma gun to port arms. "Are you threatening me, Dark Angel? Because I don't need a reason to declare you a heretic." Xerxes moved out the way, coldly staring at the Inquisitor and her retinue as they passed. His hand tightened on the grip of his bolter, frustrated.

Malak felt at home, in control. He watched with renewed interest as the vicious brawl between the Tyranids and the Orks escalated, Warriors and Carnifex genus adding their firepower and strength as Ork heavy guns blasted apart vast swathes of Gaunts and Genestealers. Green blood and black icor soaked the ground, and bodies were so thick both sides used them as gruesome cover. Behind him, Malak felt the lift activate. "Xerxes, is she alone?" he asked, getting up from his command chair. The Captain's voice was laced with menace. "I am afraid it would have resulted in her death, had we continued to oppose her. Her retinue remains with her." The doors opened, and Inquisitor Isabella walked out, bolt pistol pointed at Malak's face. "Ah, glad to see you know how to hold a weapon. Pity its of no use at the moment." The Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor stopped. "By order of the Emperor's Most Holy Inquisition, I declare thee" she began. "Really, Isabella, you only start saying that part when you have proof, and the Conclave behind you. Here, you have one squad of" Malak sneered "well, I can't even call them 'men-at-arms' can I?" Sister Superior Navelle raised her bolter, furious. "No one escapes the Emperor's justice, Malak. Your heresy is over." The Ordo Xenos Inquisitor calmly took his seat and turned his back on Isabella and her retinue, clicking his fingers once. Hagen and the two gun-servitors emerged, weapons at the ready.

"Did you hear me Malak? The taint of the xenos is obvious to all. Lay down your arms, and I will allow you a quick death. Resist, and i shall personally see to your arco-flagellation." Malak smiled wolfishly. "I suppose killing me would mean you would have to head back to your little chapel, and mindlessly pray to a wooden effigy, until another imaginary uprising calls you out." Inquisitor Isabella advanced. "You mock me and my creed so easily Malak. Only heresy could give you such reckless disregard." Malak raised an eyebrow. "Or simply the fact i don't recognise you or your pretence of armed forces. Please, Isabella. I have real work to do here, not running about, burning people at the stake for imagined crimes. Of course" he added, gesturing to the carnage on the vox-screens "don't let my lack of enthusiasm dull your own. So long as you don't interfere with my plans, burn as many loudmouths as you like."

Xerxes's voice barked over the vox-link. Malak put up a hand to Isabella just as she opened her mouth to retort. "Hold that thought. I have to hear this." "Inquisitor, we are in position. The conflict continues as predicted. No assaults yet on any of the three installations. Tarsis and Nero report they are in position, awaiting orders." Malak nodded. "Stay where you are for now; as the situation develops, I will reposition you elsewhere. Continue your observations." Malak stood, brushing past Isabella. "Now, where were you? Oh yes, you were about to order my death for heresy. Please, as you were" he finished, moving to the lift. "Malak, you cannot ignore my authority. No one is exempt from my judgement." Malak ignored her, calling his servitors and Hagen to him. "Farewell, Isabella. Keep pretending you make a difference." The Ordo Hereticus forces aimed their weapons. "Not another step Malak. I will execute you myself if you disregard me." Malak continued. "You can't kill what you don't understand. Remember that my dear." The lift doors closed, and Malak departed.

High above Hive Belkan, a dozen sleek, black vessels slid from the warp. Curving prows and barbed hooks lined their surface, as well as arcane, forbidding runes and symbols. "The mon'keigh Malak is here. Send a Raider force to the surface, find out what he has done" said the Archon, slashing the slave-pilot with a serrated glaive. His Incubi bodyguard shifted. "Not yet. Malak is a slippery creature, he won't be easily cornered. And already I can sense the sign of the Rubric within him. The Lord of Change has plans for this world" Several sleek dropships left the Corsair, heading for the hiveworld below.

[Friddel]

Part 15

The lift shuddered as it sped through to the depths of HIve Pelucidar. Muffled explosions rattled the pod, throwing Hagen from one wall to the other. Beside him, Malak and his servitors didn't even flinch. "Try and balance, Guardsman. I cannot anticipate what the welcoming party will be like" snapped the Inquisitor. Hagen noticed the tight grip Malak had on his ornate psycannon, and braved a question. "If you are an Alienhunter" he said slowly, regaining his balance, "why do you wield a weapon of the Ordo Malleus?". The Inquisitor turned, expression unreadable behind his fearsome helmet. "Two reasons. Firstly, it blasts most xenos apart better than any other weapon I possess. Soulfire is something quite deadly, especially to alien psykers." Malak stopped talking, turning back as the doors opened. Several large, power armoured shapes brought their bolters up. "And also because I can only trust that which i have complete control over" he said softly, raising his gun.

Inquisitor Isabella stood before the vox-cam array, brow furrowed, eyes darting display to display. The same images kept repeating, only now the conflict had changed. While many pict-recordings still showed fierce battles between Tyranid and Ork, on others both races ran. On one cam, the Inquisitor watch coldly as Genestealers clawed their way out of a tunnel, the stragglers torn apart by accurate bolter fire. "Well, perhaps he isn't a heretic after all" she said. "Inquisitor, their killers are not the Ordo Xenos, or even the Deathwatch. Look" said Sister Superior Navelle, pointing. Isabella's eyes narrowed. The figures that emerged, firing hard with their bolters, were clad in ancient armour. Runes, archaic symbols and twisting brass covered their surface, and their eyes glowed an unearthly blue in the dark of the tunnel. Inquisitor Isabella's fears were confirmed, when an even larger figure moved out from the group, crackly bolts of warp-energy scything down Tyranid and Ork as they battled up ahead. "Thousand Sons" Isabella said, the dread in her voice clear.

"Inquisitor Malak" said a ghostly voice, as the Chaos Sorceror moved through the Rubric Marines around him. Malak nodded once. "We were assured of minimum interference. This process is delicate, and the debilitating effects of the Hive ships is making it only harder to call to the Warp." Malak growled a reply, irritation in his voice. "I couldn't care less, Kalis. You were meant to stave off the Tyranid assault, instead all i see is mild repression at certain locations. Do you want that zealous idiot to foil you once again?" The Sorceror balked, before taking another step closer. "Watch your tone, mortal. I have the experience of ten millennia, and I call on forces more powerful than anything you could. I do not fear the female; she does not have the experience or the knowledge." Malak rapped his fingers against the helmet of the servant of Tzeetch. "Well, get that warped brain into gear, Kalis. Even though Isabella has no idea whats going on here, she can still interfere enough to spoil your plans. So forget about using your wind-up toys here ,she'll definitely call in the Grey Morons" he said, gesturing dismissively to the silent automatons. Sorceror Kalis stared down at Malak, his temper rising. "What would you suggest? I summon daemons?" Malak smiled beneath his armour. "No summoning needed. There is a virus spreading throughout the Ork ranks; just use it to transform them. Isabella assumes the Orks are just being sent crazy by their exposure to the warp; weaker creatures have." Kalis nodded. "The you take your leave, Inquisitor. Stronger minds then yourself have gone mad before the raw power of our patron; and although it grates upon me" he added, snarling, "I understand it is another strand in the great plan Tzeetch weaves." Inquisitor Malak nodded, keying his teleporter. "Hagen, stand closer please. I need to purify the transponder of taint."

Waiting, the four disappeared in flash of white light. Kalis and his Rubric Marine turned and headed back down, deeper to the chamber beneath the hive. A voice hissed in the Sorceror's ear. "Kalisss, do not fail me. I mussst be reborn before the window of oppertunity passesss. Begin the spell". The Chaos Sorceror did not reply, recognising the daemon's voice. Walking to raised dias, he looked out into the pit beneath. Cultists and mutants scurried about, hastily assembling a strange, multi-hued structure to the centre. The runes and daemonic symbols on the walls glowed and pulsed as if alive, getting brighter the closer the structure came to completion. "We have no more time. Let us begin" said Kalis to the throng of cultists. Screaming insanely, they quickly committed group suicide, their corpses falling in a specific pattern around the icon of Tzeetch. Taking a tablet from his belt, Kalis held it before him. He began chanting the words enscribed, speaking in a forbidding, unearthly language.

[Friddel]

Part 16

Inquisitor Isabella waited as the lift shot down through the hive. "Isabella" said Kyrie, gripping her bolter, "what exactly are we going to find down there?" The Inquisitor sighed. "Knowing Malak" she replied, her voice steely "something foul". The doors opened, and an ominious silence descended. The Palantine and her squad donned their helmets, using the visor filters to cut through the inky blackness. Isabella followed, her bolt pistol drawn, her hand gripping the hilt of her chainsword.

They hadnt advanced far before they encountered the first group. The Chaos cultist hurled themselves at the Inquisitor and her team, yelling and shouting "Death to the corpse god!". Co-ordinated bolter fire tore the cultists apart within a few seconds of their charge. Stepping over their bleeding corpses, Isabella pinned one disabled survivor beneath her boot. The former ganger sneered up at her, spitting blood at her. She leaned down. "What are your masters up to, heretic?" she growled. The man resisted, but the psychic mind-probe she forced into his corrupted soul answered for him. Withdrawing, she blew the cultists head off. "Their patron is Tzeetch. Which means there is a Chaos Sorceror here." Palantine Kyrie spoke, fear edging into her voice. "Which means if they are summoning a daemon..." Inquisitor Isabella stopped her with a raised palm. "The pawn I just executed didn't know enough for us to tell. Whatever it is they are up to, we are going to stop it. Daemon or no daemon, I am sending that Sorceror back to his master. The hard way" Isabella added, tightening the grip on her bolt pistol.

Xerxes paced the room, unable to relax. Behind him the others remained on alert, watching the vox-cams with disdain. "I hope the Inquisitor knows what he is doing" sighed the Captain. Deja stood next to him, heavy bolter in one hand. "He is an Inquisitor. We are honour-bound to him; what choice to we have?" he said. The sights of carnage, as Orks and Genestealer rampaged through the populace, pausing only to battle eachother, did not sit well with the Astartes. Xerxes' vox-link burst to life. "Captain, we have a level three breach in Sector Eight. Seems like the vanguard Malak mentioned finally turned up." Xerxes replied, as the team followed him out of the doors, into the tunnels again. "How many? What xenotypes?" he barked, cocking his bolter on the run, his squad right behind him. The Xenobiologist sounded anxious. "The Genestealers are all dead; Tarantula's took them out. There are at least two lictors, maybe three. Its the last one that gives me pause" said the scientist. He sent a vid-log to the team. On a small window in their visors, each of the Deathwatch watched in silence, as a humanoid figure appeared behind one of the Stormtroopers, slicing his body in half. The hellgun rounds caused it no issue; it simply walked right through it. Even the plasma guns failed to kill it, the beast merely suffering a burn to its carapace. The forcefield protecting the next door seemed to be siphoned off by the creature, its progress steady towards the specimen lab.

Rounding the corner, Xerxes and his team opened the bulkhead. In a second, Deja had raised his heavy bolter and fired. The Hellfire round embedded its deadly needles into the Lictor's face. Its screeched, lashing out even as it fell, its brain destroyed by the mutagenic viruses and acids. The other Lictor moved fast, but not fast enough. Crucio rolled to avoid its talons, before he fired. The repeated plasma blasts seared its flesh, causing the creature to retreat. Torvald was on it in seconds, his thunderhammer smacking the Lictor hard against the ceramite wall. Its lifeless body crumpled, as the Marine shook its cadaver free from his crackling weapon. "Keep moving. That thing is going to destroy all of the specimens; we cannot allow that to happen. No on assaults" he added, looking at Torvald "until I give the order." The team set off, leaving the lifeless bodies of the Tyranids behind them.

Malak watched with interest the events in the southern compound. Although not unexpected, the Tyranid beast which seemed to rip through his defences like paper was an anomaly. The Inquisitor watched with mounting anxiety as another pair of Lictors and a twin of the other beast cut a swathe through the Stormtrooper squads. Sergeant Nero stood next to him. "Orders, sir?" he said. "Deploy outside the specimen lab. Thats where they are headed." Malak stood, activating his three servitors. "Hagen, aim true today. I want to see if your weapon actually performs as the Xenobiologist said it would." The two teams left the control room to the auger-servitors and auto-savants.

Xerxes advanced cautiously. Deja watched the rear, while Morghast and Fabian covered the flanks. Crucio kept his plasma gun trained ahead. "One blast to the face, then let Torvald charge. As soon as he does, we all open fire on the beast on the move" ordered the Deathwatch Captain. The squad nodded. "Left, on your left" said Deja calmly, as he fired several bursts down that tunnel. The round hit a large shape moving up, the explosive bolts deflected by the creature's strange energy field. "Crucio" was all the Captain said, as the Blood Angel fired. A glob of superheated hydrogen spat from his weapon, dissolving the beasts field and temporarily blinding it. "Go" added Xerxes, as Torvald sped past, the Space Wolf's thunder hammer raised. The Astarte thundered into the Tyranid, the force of his blow sending it flying a full ten metres. It got right back up however, and snarled. "Fire" was all Xerxes said, as four bolters, a plasma gun and the team's heavy bolter all opened up. As the creature staggered from the sheer weight of fire, unable to advance, Deja uncoupled his belt feed, instead loading a single silver round. "Crucio, again" ordered Xerxes, firing his bolter from the hip as the squad sent the creature back a step with more explosive bolts. A flurry of plasma blasts depleted the Tyranid's field, allowing Deja to fire. The silver round embedded itself in the creatures chest. Instead of exploding however, it send tendrils through it body. It tried to resist, but the shock and paralysis of the payload send it sprawling.

Xerxes and his squad kept their weapon trained, slowly advancing. "Inquisitor, we have successfully disabled our intruder. We will secure it in the facility you designated." Torvald and the Captain hefted the bulk of the creature, feeling its muscles and tendons strain even though the beast was catatonic and totally paralysed. Fabian noticed its struggles too, and his eyes widended. "I suggest we make haste, Captain. That foul xenos looks like its about to regain control." Xerxes grunted in agreement, and the Deathwatch hurried. Passing the bewildered Stormtroopers, they headed for a reinforced lift shaft. Passing down, they dumped the creature inside. The null-generators and heavy blast doors hummed to life, as did several powerful void shields. "That should hold it for a while" said Xerxes. The rest of the team checked their weapons all the same. "Inquisitor, the beast is secure. Returning to the control room now."

In the northern facility, Malak smiled. "Excellent. Keep an eye on it; it may have brought more organisms than just the two Lictors and the handful of expendable 'Stealers." His psycannon blew the head off one Lictor, the other caught in the crossfire of Nero, another two Stormtrooper squads, and the automated defences, who now had their sights re-activated. "Hagen, keep looking" he said to the Guardsman by his side, as he checked the auger-link. "Inquisitor, I suggest we move. The auspex component has a limited range; it will be more effective the closer we get to it." The Inquisitor thought about this, watching the second Lictor convluse and die. A third leapt from the shadows, before plasma and heavy bolter tore it apart too. "Nero, you stay with the other Stormtroopers. Keep an eye out for any more of these things. A full sweep if neccessary". The Sergeant nodded, ordering the men around him. "Come on, come out and fight" said Malak to himself, sending a psychic impluse through the warp. He was rewarded with the auspex beeps become more frequent, and Hagen's hurried report. "Eastern quadrant, upper level. Its going for the drilling shaft. It'll probably follow the seam all the way to the reinforced chamber." Malak smiled, a predator look that suggested more. "Good. It'll soon be feeling my warm welcome." A blast shook the walls around them. "Hurry" said the Inquisitor "I only laid seven mines. And that thing will probably detonate the others remotely using its field. Move!" he added to the weapon servitors, who stumbled as they ran, encumbered by their heavy weaponry. Despite their slowness, Malak knew it would take every last round from the half-man constructs to even weaken the beast sufficiently (he privately doubted the beasts could be killed with conventional weapons).

[Friddel]

Part 17

Malak and his retinue made good time. When they reached the door, Nero and his squad greeted them. "No sign of the beast" he whispered, eyes scanning the walls for a flicker of movement. The rest of the veteran Stormtroopers were also uneasy, hellguns shouldered and covering the two entry tunnels. "Its almost inside. We'll need bait" said Malak, before turning to Hagen. Gritting his teeth, the Guardsman nodded. "Don't lose your head" said the Inquisitor, as Hagen ran to the drilling seam.

What he found caused him to stand still with disbelief. A ragged gash had bee n torn right through the reinforced steel and ceramite, with a hole burrowing through the rock. Another explosion rocked the walls, further down from Hagen. Activating his helmets infrared, he set off down the dark hole in the wall. Another couple of metres, and Hagen glimpsed the alien. It frantically tore at the rock ahead, ignoring yet another mine as it detonated. Hagen fell to his knees, pelted overhead by bits of rock. The creature turned, smelling prey. Hagen crouched and levelled his weapon. "I'm sure I taste better than them" he growled with false bravado. Inside his head, he prayed to the Emperor. Suddenly, another voice whispered within his head. "We are reclaiming our children. Leave us be." Hagen cocked an eyebrow. Suddenly, it all made sense. He took another step forwards. The creature snarled and reared up, but the Guardsman could sense its hesitance. It had ripped through a dozen or more other Stormtroopers to get this far, and now it was...scared? He stared into the creatures cold black eyes. Unlike any other Tyranid he had encountered, this one stared back not with the blank, dead look of its brethern, but with the hatred of a sentient being. Hagen took another step. "What are you?" he said, his autoshotgun still raised. The beast did not answer. "Well, since you were obviously once a psyker, I think we both know how this ends" he said, taking another step. The creature towered over the Guardsman, a hulking monster of sinew, muscle and bone. And yet, that fearful look in its eye betrayed its fearsome presence. Hagen fired.

The creature moved with amazing speed, dodging the incoming projectiles despite the enclosed space. Hagen had his autoshotgun wrenched from his grasp, but then the creature staggered back, as Hagen plunged his combat knife deep into its spine. It screeched and writhed, as it tore the shaft of steel from its body. By the time the creature had whirled around, Hagen had his autoshotgun waiting. He fired on full auto, a storm of pellets pummeling its body. Hagen wondered how his weapon could penetrate the creature's strange force-field, and then realised. Every shot send blood and bits of gore flying. The creature, now blinded, half-paralysed and bleeding, leapt for the wall, desperate to dig through. Hagen sent the rest of the magazine into it. The powerful paralytic drugs and sedatives began to work, disabling the creatures nervous system. It fell, claws still scrabbling weakly before Hagen stood over it. The light in its dark eyes dimmed, but did not diminish entirely. Hagen keyed the vox over the growing silence. "Inquisitor, I have captured it. However, there are some matters we must discuss".

Malak nodded. "Bring it to the containment chamber. We can discuss things once the intruder is secure." Turning to the others, the Inquisitor began to bark orders. "Nero, take your squad and two more, fortify this zone around the lab. I want Tarantulas, smart mines and auspex trackers set up . Get one of the Tech-priests down here, I need him to seal that track the creature dug with duracrete. Have him post servitors on the dock and underground; i have a feeling where our enemies appeared from." Malak hurried off to the control room, servitors in tow.

[Friddel]

Part 18

Inquisitor Isabella and her Sisters advanced, weapons at the ready. The tunnel widened into a large chamber. Ahead, the podium from which Kalis was chanting drew the Inquisitor. "He's mine. Kill whatever else resides here" she snarled, hatred etched into her face. The bolt rounds she sent at the Chaos Sorceror were deflected easily by his daemonic armour, purple flashes refracting them into the walls. Kalis sneered at Isabella as she advanced. "Good. An uncorrupted soul for the taking." Isabella responded by sending an arc of warp-energy into Kalis's face. He laughed, deflecting it with a dismissive flick of his wrist. "You're fighting blind, Isabella. Better find your feet" he added, watching as the floor contracted beneath her. Isabella had no time for thought; she leapt. Beneath her, a foul warp-hole opened, and a shriek heralded the arrival of a daemon. The Horror manifested as an ever-shifting, brightly coloured worm-like creature. Its leech-like mouth sprayed warp-flames at the Inquisitor. More daemons spawned from around the chamber, trapping Kyrie and her squad between them and the advancing Rubric Marines.

"What have you done, traitor?" demanded the Inquisitor, dodging Kalis's bedlam staff, swiping at him with her chainsword. The Chaos Sorceror laughed mockingly, parrying her weapon and forcing Isabella back a step. "Our Lord sends an avatar to teach you the error of your ways" he said, moving with great speed. Isabella had to leap from the platform, and into the pit. She turned. Kalis sneered down at her. "Face your fears, Inquisitor. Or just become another lost soul. Be warned however; Tzeetch already knows your choice." He intoned the last damned words of his liturgy, and the shifting floor beneath the Inquisitor contracted suddenly to one spot. A beaked face, ruby-red eyes deep with power and knowledge, appeared first. The rest of the daemon's body appeared soon after, a pair of blue pinions spread above it, a sleek, multi-hued body appearing soon after. It reached into the air and drew a bizarre staff to it. A green crystal glowed from a golden half-crescent. It gazed down and regarded the Inquisitor beneath it with contempt. She ran, as the Lord of Change advanced. Even as she reached the edge of the pit, it landed ahead of her.

Kalis laughed down at her. "Look to your so-called protectors Inquisitor. See how they defend you." Isabella risked a look. Only the Palantine and three others, from the squad of ten, remained. Another was torn apart by warp fire as Isabella watched. Kyrie seized the fallen Sister's bolter and kept firing, face set in utter hatred. Behind her, two Thousand Sons advanced and tore the remaining pair of Sisters apart with bolt rounds. Kyrie closed her eyes, even as the Traitor Marines and their daemons raised their weapons. A strange white light began to surround her.

Kalis cursed. "The corpse-god reaches from beyond the grave." The Palantine opened her eyes, perfectly calm. She ignored the rattling bolters of the Rubric Marines, and the warp fire of the Horrors just dissapated against her armour. When she spoke, her voice seemed to fill the chamber. "Emperor, sanctify these lost souls. Release them from their bondage to the trickster god" she said. Kyrie fired. The bolt round tore right through the armour of the closest Thousand Son, his body shattering into thousands of shards. A faint howl of anger, and the faintest outline of a face, etched in agony, before dissapearing. She charged the Horrors, her blade causing them to pop out of reality in clouds of black ichor. Kalis raised a huge boltgun. "All martyr's have only one destiny" he growled, firing a single round. The sorcerous bolt shell drove itself into the Palantine's chest, a foul explosion of blood and gore painting the wall behind her. A white explosion incinerated the Horrors and left only three of the seven Rubric Marines intact. Kalis called them back. "Leave her. She's worse than dead now" he added, grinning beneath his helmet.

Isabella charged her own adversary. The Lord of Change regarded her coolly, parrying every thrust, every strike. It struck her repeatedly, one graze cutting her cheek. Feeling the blood, it screeched in triumph. A cold voice echoed in her head as she fought the daemon for every step. "Give up, zealot. Your soul is his already; why fight what is already decided?" The warp-hole drew closer and closer, as Isabella was sent backwards. Parrying another of the daemon's strikes, she tapped her belt. "Our fight is neverending, warp-spawn. But for now, I concede" she snarled, as the teleporter enveloped her. Kalis tried to prevent it, but only succeeded in causing Isabella to stop halfway. "Find her. If the Grey Knights, or that idiot Karamazov show up, we won't have a world to corrupt. All is dust" he intoned. The Rubric Marines answered. The Lord of Change gestured, and his servants teleported away. It stood alone in the chamber. A etheric wind blew through the chamber, and it too disappeared.

Kalis and his Thousand Sons reappeared within the hive. The broken bodies of the long-dead psyker choir lay all round them. "Hmmm..." he said, leaning down. Tendrils of power connected him with one of the cadavers. His eyes lit up as he absorbed the memories. "Yes, that would make sense. So long as their is no choir, there is no way of transmitting messages. Her ship!" he said, suddenly realising. One squad of Thousand Sons teleported away, reappearing in the dock. The few remaining Genestealers fell easily to their bolters, as they swept the grounded ships. "Not here, Sorceror. We will keep it secure" intoned one of the Traitor Marines soullessly. Kalis nodded. "The rest of you are going to kill the female. Kill anything else that gets in your way" he growled. The Thousand Sons teleported away. Isabella rounded the corner, only to have the second squad of Traitor Marines re-appear not a meter behind her. "Go back to the hell that spawned you!" she yelled, running and firing blindly behind herself. The Thousand Sons calmly ignored her, advancing while firing their bolters on full auto. She leapt around the corner as the majority sped past. The few that did connect depleted her force-field to nothing. She continued to run, hoping against hope they hadn't found it.

[Friddel]

Part 19

The Archon's personal Ravager sped over the wartorn surface of Pelucidar. Around him, the wickedly-sharp bladed jetbikes of his Cabal kept pace. He gestured, an a holo-display activated. "How much longer?" he snarled at the pilot. The Dark Eldar increased power to the engines, before answering. "The target is still a minute away. I would suggest, my Lord, a suprise assault." The Archon's tone dripped with sarcasm. "Are you dictating the Cabal's attack plan, servant?" The pilot resolved to keep his mouth shut. "A wise decision. If it were not for your skills with this craft, I would have you decorating the prow" the Archon hissed. Turning to his Incubi bodyguard, he frowned. "Malak probably already knows we are here. A direct assault on the fortress will only lead to our untimely demise. Stop the convoy" he ordered, as sixteen sleek jetbikes, four Raider transports and his own Ravager came to a halt. "Haemonculus, form a portal for me. I promise you replacements within the hour" he added viciously. The grey-skinned, heavily scarred Dark Eldar before him returned his cruel smile, before whipping a small group of frightened humans from the Ravager. Taking delight in their fear and pain, the Haemonculus set about binding their bodies into a loose arch, chaining them together with barbed wire and heavy chains. Soon, the foul portal was complete. A sickly purple pulsed around the bodies, as a swirling hole in reality formed. "Hurry my Lord. These weaklings cannot sustain the warp-portal for long" said the Haemonculus. The Archon, accompained by his elite Incubi bodyguard, dissapeared through the portal.

Inside the fortress, Nero and his squad heard a faint humming and the sound of heavy footsteps. Activating their weapons, they pressed themselves against the cold ceramite of the wall. The Sergeant keyed his vox-link. "Inquisitor, they are here." From within the command chamber, Malak watched with fascination as the Archon and his Incubi stepped from a swirling portal in the air, moving with speed and agility. "Xerxes, flank them but do not engage. Herd them towards the containment rooms." A click of the vox-link confirmed. "Nero, move towards the containment rooms. Once we close the blast doors behind them, they'll have to get past your squad, the Deathwatch and Tarsis. Do not fail me." Another click of the vox-link confirmed, as Nero and his squad redeployed. A few seconds after the last Stormtrooper rounded the bend, the Archon peered from the shadows. "Stop here" he commanded his Incubi. "Attach a charge to that bulkhead." A black explosive packet was fixed to the durasteel alloy. A few seconds later it detonated, the blast directed almost entirely up and outwards. After the last chunks of ceramite had fallen, the Archon reached up and pulled out a section of cabling. Slicing it in half with his power weapon, the lights and pict-cams died as the power grid shut down. "To the lift shaft" he ordered, the Incubi following in silence.

Malak watched with alarm as the pict-cams and lighting shutdown. "Xerxes, switch to motion-tracking. Find out where the Archon went." Switching channels, he ordered Tarsis around to the right. "Do not move from your position. If they come round the corner, retreat. Wait until they hit the kill-zone" The blade of one of the Incubi sheared through the bulkhead behind him. Malak stepped back, arming his null-rod and psycannon. "Hide" he hissed to Hagen, who had stepped forward. The Guardsman just managed to squeeze under one of the monitor screens when the Archon arrived. Hagen watched with horrified fascination as Malak fought four Incubi and the Archon. One of the bodyguards fell as a trio of psycannon rounds blew him apart, but a swift motion from another, and the weapon was sliced off Malak's armour. Countering a dozen blows with his null-rod, Malak punched one Incubi in the chest. It sneered back and rammed its blade clean through his shoulder, bypassing his armour and force-field. The Inquisitor fell to his knees, as three halberds and a splinter pistol was aimed at his face. "Where is it?" ordered Archon Drathul. Malak laughed in his face. "I am willing to kill you now, quickly." Malak raised an eyebrow. "And what happens, if I tell you to go to hell?" The Archon smiled. "A win-win situation. You tell me now, you die. You refuse, I make sure that your demise is spread over several days, and consists of pure agony the entire way."

Mvoing out of the Inquisitor's field of view, the silent Incubus produced a powerful mantrap. Malak ducked, but the wicked blades caught him nonetheless, pinning him to the wall. Drathul gestured, and a sickly sweet fog enveloped the struggling Inquisitor. When it cleared (Hagen furiously silencing his coughs to avoid detection), Malak hung lifelessly. The Incubi snared the trap deeper into his unconcious body. One turned and nodded. "Splinter of Denial, retrieve us" he commanded to the ceiling. At once, Malak, the Archon and the Incubi dissapeared. Seconds later, Xerxes and Nero's squads entered, weapons at the ready. Around them, the servitors continued their tasks mindlessly. Hagen moved from under the display, and was targeted by sixteen weapons. Xerxes gave a curt order. "Its the Guardsman. Hagen, what happened?" he asked brusquely. "They took him. Cost them something" he added, kicking the dead Incubus. The Dark Eldar groaned and drew himself into the fetal postion. Seventeen weapons now targeted the fallen Incubus.

Torvald raised his thunderhammer. "I say we crush it before the xenos heals." Xerxes glared at the headstrong Space Wolf, who merely glowered back. "Captain, before I relented to your tactical knowledge. But now, with one of these perfidious Eldar convulsing on the floor, I don't understand your reasoning." The Deathwatch Captain sighed, kneeling before the prone Incubus. "Sometimes, I wish killing them were that simple. But unfortunatly, this filth is the only one who knows where, and when we can retrieve the Inquisitor." The Xenobiologist appeared at his shoulder. "Excellent. Another for my collection" he added, grinning evilly. Hagen shuddered and looked to Xerxes. "They wanted something from him. Whatever it was, the Inquisitor was willing to suffer the depredations of the Archon to protect." Tarsis cocked his head as the vox-link burst to life. "We've got company. That Archon might be gone, but he left his buddies behind to have some fun. They keep skirting the outer defences maximum range." Xerxes grinned beneath his power armour. "Torvald, you said you wanted to crush some Eldar? How does splitting their skulls at high speed sound?"

The armoured silo opened for a but a second, but it was all that was needed for the Landspeeder to exit. A variant commissioned by Malak himself, this particular model was longer and heavier, able to accomodate up to six Deathwatch with full gear. Right now, Crucio piloted the nimble craft, while Deja manned his heavy bolter, clipped onto the pintle mount of his seat. Behind him, Xerxes, Morghast, Fabian and Torvald sat. Morghast and Fabian now both sported meltaguns and powerswords, as well as a handful of frag grenades. "Remember, nobody jumps until I give the command. Throw the grenades first, leap aboard. If they don't have him, I'll leave them a present" Xerxes said, gesturing to the meltabombs on the seat next to him. Torvald laughed at the apprehension of Fabian in the seat next to him. "You'll be fine, brother. So long as the Raptors taught you hand-to-hand correctly" he added. Fabian activated his power sword, tracing lines through the air.

The Landspeeder raced across the wasteland around them, gaining on the black specks they were chasing. "This is it, brothers. Deja, do not open fire until we are detected. Then take out the jetbikes as a priority." The Salamander smiled, activating the underslung assault cannon. "They'll be a fine red mist before the idiots in the Raiders know whats hit them."

Inquisitor Isabella reached the shuttle just in time. The single Retributor squad held off the Thousand Sons Traitor Marines long enough for the Aquila lander to take off. Teleporting to their side just as their bolters tore apart the last of the squad, Kalis gazed after the shuttle. "She shouldn't notice. The faithful generally don't." He gestured, and he and the Thousand Sons evapourated, recalled by their master to another place.

[Friddel]

Part 20

The Deathwatch Landspeeder closed on the Dark Eldar jetbikes, Deja holding his fire to the last moment. "Now!" ordered Xerxes, gesturing to the others to stand up. The heavy bolter and assault cannon unleashed a wave of mass-reactive shells into the air, three jetbikes torn to pieces in as many seconds. "Crucio, get us close to the Raiders." The Blood Angel pilot complied, bring the craft to race alongside one of the gruesome skimmers. Up close, the festooned heads, shattered wargear and barbed hooks sunk into flesh sent waves of disgust through the Marines. "Torvald" was all Xerxes said, before the Space Wolf leapt from the Landspeeder to the Raider. Crucio peeled off, ready to deliver more carnage to the other transports. Scattered splinter rounds simply rebounded off the Deathwatch. "Fabian, your next" ordered the Captain.

On the first Raider, Torvald faced down four lithe, well-armed Wyches. Sneering, the advanced on him, a blur of blades and shrieks. "I bring his light to your darkness!" he shouted, swinging his thunderhammer wide. One Wych wasn't fast enough, as the blow connected and sent her broken body flying from the Raider. The others cackled and easily dodged the Space Wolf's attempts. In return, they covered him in a rain of small but sharp blows, aiming for weak points in his armor, leaving deep gouges in the ceramite. Torvald roared, not from pain but from frustration. He charged again and smacked another from the Raider. One Wych leapt over him, trapping him between her and her sister. Torvald drew his bolt pistol, keeping both Wyches at bay. The pilot suddenly decellerated, hoping to send the unwanted passenger away. Instead, both Wyches left the deck, shouting curses as they hit the ground hard. Watching them dissapear in foul explosions of blood, Torvald leaned forward from his handhold and placed the bolt pistol in the pilot's pointy ear. "Keep driving" he snarled, pressing the barrel further up the pilot's ear canal. Taking the hint, the Dark Eldar warrior muttered a curse and increased speed.

"Archon, I request assistance. Some of the mon'keigh left their fortress and pursued us. Their blind devotion and genetic mutilation make them powerful, if crude warriors. And these...Deathwatch, they seem well-versed in our ways." The speaker, a slim Dark Eldar pirate, gestured. Hazy footage showed the destruction of several jetbikes, and the boarding of one of the Raiders by a bulky, power armored figure. Drathul turned to Malak, chained before him. "Tell them to leave, or I will kill you" he said calmly, activating the link to the Deathwatch Landspeeder.

Fabian was just preparing to jump, tense yet focused, when a voice echoed across the unit's vox-channel. "Your Inquisitor dies if you continue to follow. Break off now" said the Archon coldly. Deja blasted down another jebike, while Crucio spoke to the Captain. "Brother, I cannot see Malak on any of the transports. Perhaps he is already off-planet." Xerxes nodded, gesturing to Fabian to retake his seat. "I understand Archon," he growled back over the vox-link "but our ammunition is more than sufficient to kill all of this filth and you." The vox-link with the pirate ship cut out. "Morghast, do you have the trace?" said the Captain. The Iron Snake nodded. "Its leaving high orbit, possibly going for a warp jump. We'll need to return to the Mako ". Xerxes nodded, looking back. "Wait" he said, seeing the captured Raider Torvald was now flying on.

Back inside the fortress, Captain Xerxes calmly stood before the hostages. The Archon of the first pirate fleet hung limp in his restraints, glaring back at the team. "Your torture techiques could do with some improvement" he commented. The Xenobiologist entered, raising an eyebrow. "You degenerates don't seem to realise pain isnt the only way to coax information out of a subject." The Dark Eldar navigator, a twisted parody of an Eldar Farseer, looked around desperately for a means of escape. "Deja, explain to them the plan." The Salamander couldn't hide his disgust, but spoke nonetheless. "Your lives, being foul xenos, are already lost from his grace. But, before we purge you of your doomed existance, you will help us." The Incubus stared blankly into space, the only sign of life the constant testing of his bonds. The Dark Eldar pilot looked warily from the captured Archon back at his captors. "And if we spit in your face?" snarled the Archon with venom. "Those who will not co-operate willingly, will be made to serve." To emphasise the point, a servitor entered the room, an array of cutting instruments and mechadendrites spilling from its body. Xerxes sighed. "I'm not staying to watch this" he said ominously, before he and the other Marines left. The Xenobiologist locked the door, looking back at his captives with something close to glee. "I've always wondered if human cybernetics would work on Eldar. Given the similarities...I don't see the harm in trying." The servitor moved closer, mechanical tools at the ready.

Inquisitor Isabella sat in the command chair of her strike cruiser. Technically, this ship was the property of the Adepta Sororitas, but with the sudden demise of her Palantine, Isabella now had control. Her face was blank as she activated the vox-link. "By the immortal authority of the Emperor, Battlefleet Tempestus is to mobilise. Send word" she ordered to the Astropath. Watching the doomed world beneath her overrun by aliens and Chaos, she closed her eyes, shedding a tear. "No matter how many must suffer for justice, I will avenge you Kyrie" she said softly, a steely tone to her voice. "First of all, that xeno-heretic shall burn" she snarled.

[Friddel]

Part 21

"Archon" said one of the slaves to Drathul, avoiding his gaze, "one of the Raiders has yet to return to the portal. Should we wait?". His lord pondered, before waving his hand dismissively. "Let them in. I can ifllafforf any more losses at this point." The lone Raider slipped through the groundside portal, reappearing in the hangar of the Dark Eldar cruiser. The craft powered down, allowing slaves to begin the repairs and refueling of its engines and weapons.

Four shadows slipped from the rear of the Raider, landing softly behind a bulkhead. Gesturing, Fabian led the team past the slave workers, bolter in hand. Reaching the door, he typed in a complicated code word. The door hissed open before he could complete it. The Marines leapt out of the way as the Archon and his retinue moved down to their Raider. "Where is the pilot of this craft?" barked Drathul. Fabian and the others slipped through the door before it could close. The Archon moved around to the front of the craft, seeing the pilot tied to his seat. "What the..." started the Archon, before the fusion bomb went off. Thrown through the air, the Archon and his Incubi picked themselves up, their superhuman reactions and agility leaving them unhurt. The assorted slave workers were less fortunate, most incinerated by the white hot blast, others screaming as their skin caught on fire. "They're here. Find them" he said to the Warrior squads as they appeared in the hangar. "I want them alive" he added, as the three teams split up.

Fabian carefully deactivated the door, slipping through and then locking it behind Deja, the last to get through. The Salamander's heavy bolter was held low, as the team scurried forwards. Morghast check his helmet readout. The auspex showed multiple contacts moving to their location. He relayed the information to Fabian, who nodded and gestured. The team would split into two. Fabian and Crucio headed upwards, looking for the bridge. Deja and Morghast headed lower, searching through the packed cells for their prize.

Fabian gestured to Crucio to stay down, as one of the Warrior squads moved towards them. His hand brushed the airlock beside him, and his mind raced. Gesturing quickly to his battle-brother to hold on, he locked his armor against the bulkhead and hit the release switch. The room explosively decompressed, and the twenty or so Dark Eldar were ejected into space. They struggled fitfully before they died, slowly tumbling out of view as the ship moved past them. Fabian silently thanked his Chapter for his power armor, before moving on. Crucio tapped his shoulder, gesturing upwards. In his other hand, a meltabomb was armed. Fabian stepped back, allowing the Blood Angel to attach the charge.

From deep within the bowels of the Splinter of Denial, Deja covered Morghast as he advanced, combat knife and bolt pistol in hand. An explosion rocked the deck beneath them gently, neither Marine noticing much. Suddenly, grating feedback came over the speakers mounted on the walls. Both Marines nodded in realisation and adjusted their helmet filters. Fabian's voice became clear. "Brothers, take the next right and then two lefts. His cell is recessed into the floor, so you'll need to use your meltagun." Morghast and Deja set off, moving quickly through the cell levels. All the captured saw was faint blurs, and heavy footsteps, before the Marines had moved on. Neither stopped to look at any of the captives, although the range of creatures would have astounded them. Tau settlers, still dressed in their Earth Caste robes, sat dejectedly in their cells, muttering to eachother in their strange, lyrical language. Human prisoners fought with eachother, the distinction between madness and sanity forgotten. Not a single Ork could be seen, and only a few Exodite Eldar filled the cells. The entire place was silent, save for the occasional scruffle as two human prisoners fought over scraps of food.

Deja stopped, gesturing the floor. While he covered both exits, Morghast carved a circle in the metal floor, kicking it in. He descended into the cell, reappearing with the Inquisitor's limp form. Malak's eyed opened, and he gave them one order. "Save the other humans." Deja raised an eyebrow. He was rewarded for his hesitance, with a blinding psy-headache. Releasing him, Malak repeated his request. "Save the other humans" he ordered, some of the coldness back in his otherwise blank tone. Morghast and Deja moved from cell to cell, frying the locks on the human cells. Several of the larger ones contained a mix of prisoners, but Deja de-cloaked and raised his heavy bolter, his intent clear. The human prisoners walked warily out, suspecting a trap. Suddenly, the door on the landing above flew open, and Dark Eldar Warriors poured through. Deja opened up, tearing a dozen apart before the others rolled past. The cackling laughter and rattle of feet on walkways put both Marines on edge. "Move!" he ordered the seven humans, pushing them forwards. Morghast made it to the door, staggering as a hail of splinter rounds assailed his armor. Feigning a wound, he fell to his knees, causing the other Dark Eldar warriors to open fire as well. Deja opened up on their positions, blasting three down, the other four ducking behind junctions and pipes. Morghast got back to his feet, his combat knife and bolt pistol back in his hands. "I'll flush them out, you kill them" said Deja, unloading a storm of shells upwards. The human prisoners took cover. Morghast swung up another level, the walkways creaking beneath his weight.

High above their embattled teammates, Fabian and Crucio were very busy. Most of the slaves operating the command deck were dead, bolt rounds expertly put through their heads as they tried to run. The three remaining slaves warily followed Fabians instructions, his bolt pistol raised in their direction. Crucio was kept busy locking the doors, and blasting down the futile attempts of the Warrior squad outside to flank them. "Brothers, move to the escape pod bay." Deja and Morghast complied, hurrying their human cargo along. Crucio turned back to Fabian. "Brother, we don't have much time left. Their laser weapons will cut through the door soon." Fabian nodded. "We'll get to the bay the short way." He raised his bolt pistol and fired. The viewscreen in front of them died, before the actual window shattered. The three slaves and the two Marines were sucked out tiwth the air, as the bridge decompressed. The Marines pivoted and used the dead bodies and debris as leverage, pushing themselves back to the hull. Locking their magnetic boots, they walked across the hooked and bladed hull carefully, reaching the escape pods just as the other two did. Cycling through an airlock, they quickly boarded. Fabian frowned at the other humans, but did not stop them as they boarded. The escape pod blasted free, as another fusion charge blew the doors. The Dark Eldar who tried to intercept them as they left were sucked out, some fried by the backblast, some left add to the debris of Fabian's previous exit.

As the pod hurtled through space, Isabella's cruiser tailed it. The Mako intercepted the pod, before its drives flared and it dissapeared into the warp. Isabella watched with resignation as her quarry escaped. "You on the other hand" she said, watching the Splinter of Denial flounder "are going to help me find him." Lance batteries strafed the craft, as the moved her ship closer.

[Friddel]

Part 22

Inquisitor Isabella looked disdainful as the Archon was thrown to the ground before her. From around the ship, explosions and the report of bolter fire heralded the still-raging battle between the remnants of the Warrior squads and the Sisters of Battle. Raising her bolt pistol, she leaned forwards. "You had Malak in your possession. Do you know where he might be headed?" Drathul sneered back at her. "Presumably somewhere to hide, to lick his wounds, and then come back for more. Somewhere, I imagine, you can't follow." Isabella ground her teeth. Her mandate forbid her from leaving Pelucidar, until all traces of Chaos and its minions was removed. With the subesquent invasion of the Orks and Tyranids, her task was becoming more and more impossible by the hour. "I don't have time for this, xeno. Either you know where he is going, or you are no use to me." The pirate considered his options. "Why would I help you, mon-keigh?" he snarled, straining against the grip of the two Celestians holding him. Isabella coldly stared back, a look of puzzlement crossing her face. "What is your quarrel with him?" she asked. Drathul laughed, before his face hardened with hatred. "He took something from me, an artifact of great value. I want it back." The Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor leaned closer. "And what precisely is this artifact?"

The Mako re-appeared in realspace, its drives flaring once before the extensive baffles and cloaking fields covered their signature. "Captain, prepare a dropship. I must go to the surface and see what has eventuated." Above the world of Laius Rift, a large bulk transporter hung, festooned with the markings of an Adeptus Mechanicus ship. The holo-field crackled to life, and the face of a servitor stared blankly back. "State your business in this sector." Inquisitor Malak leaned from his seat, placing his rosetta into the holo-field for it to scan. The servitor's face was replaced with that of a Tech-priest, his eyes the only discernable feature from beneath the hood of his robes. Mechadendrites could be seen waving like metal stalks from behind him, manipulating the machinery around him. "Greetings, my Lord. I am honoured that a member of the Ordo Xenos..." Malak cut him off. "Why are you here, Tech-adept? This world has been declared Imperious Perdita. Under whose authority are you here?" The Tech-priest sighed. "By the authority of the Ommnisah, Magos Explorator Tarike was informed of the bounty of lost ships on this world. To leave such knowledge untapped, undiscovered for so long..." Inquisitor Malak raised his gauntlet, silencing the Tech-priest. "By the authority of the Emperor, I order this Magos Tarike before me. Where is he?" demanded the Inquisitor. The Tech-priest shifted guiltily, withering under the fierce tone in Malak's voice. "He took a number of Skittari down to the surface to search for ships lost beneath the ice. We have not heard from him or any others for the past twelve hours." Malak grunted, unhappy. "Thank you, Tech-adept. Tell your captain to move out-system now, and inform the Adeptus Mechanicus of the limits to their authority."

Malak cut the vox-link and turned to the Deathwatch team. "Captain, prepare a dropship. We are heading back to Outpost X-347. Arm yourselves accordingly." Xerxes nodded, as the team headed for the dropship bay. Stepping into the waiting Thunderhawk, Xerxes was suprised by the Inquisitor and his pair of gun servitors strapping into the seats beside them. "Perhaps you should remain aboard the Mako, to recover my lord" he suggested. "I assure you Captain, I will not slow you down. You are to secure the area of all hostiles, and then remain there until I return." Xerxes nodded, as the Thunderhawk took off. In minutes the sleek black craft was skimming across the surface, heading for a distinctive hole in the pack ice beneath them. The craft hovered down, as the heavy bolter turrets surveyed the landing pad. "They just couldn't resist. Damn nosy techno-files" said Malak, viewing the broken bodies and bunkers strewn beneath them. As the Thunderhawk landed, Xerxes and his squad spread out, taking up covering positions. "No hostiles sighted, Inquisitor."

Malak walked down the ramp of the craft, gun-servitors in tow. A servo-skull appeared from a recess in the wall, spiralling down to the Inquisitor. "Show me" he ordered the symbiont. It projected a patchy pict-recording into the visor of Malak's helmet. He watched intently for several moments, before terminating the link. "Execute control protocol Sigma. Re-seal the door" he ordered. The servo-skull sent an error message through the ether. "What do you mean, unable to comply? Unless they used...idiots" snarled the Inquisitor, viewing the grainy footage of Skittari using meltaguns to cut a whole in the complicated locking mechanism. He cut the pict-feed again. "Execute all other elements of Sigma protocol. Activate the sentries." The servo-skull took off, returning to its recess in the wall. Xerxes jogged over to Malak, bolter in one hand. "Inquisitor, we have located one of the beasts." Malak hurried after the Captain, stopping before the massive corpse of the Laius Horror. "It appears to have suffered multiple wounds, including the attentions of several bolt rounds and a multi-melta beam through the chest. The kill shot" added the Deathwatch Captain, expertly moved the creatures head to show "entered the eye and lodged itself in the cranium, detonating a second later." Malak admired the marksmanship of the shot. Whoever had killed the beast would have had only seconds to aim and fire.

From within their makeshift bunker, Tech-priest Corom shifted uneasily. "What should we do, Sergeant?" he asked Narthen. The Skittari soldier turned to Ruskin, who was checking the feed on his arm-mounted bolt pistol. "We wait. Perhaps they will reveal to us what the throne is going on here" he growled, on edge as the rest of them were. The Enginseer tensed as he felt the signal of the servo-skull echo through the Warp. "Corom, what is it?" said Narthen. "The message is heavily coded, its a script I am unfamiliar with. The Inquisitor appears to be ordering the servo-skull to execute a security protocol" responded Corom. Narthen stood. "Enough of this hiding. I am going out to speak with them." Ruskin stood. "Did you see the bodies in the control bunker? Their wounds were caused by bolt rounds." Narthen continued to the exit. "I shall tell them I am the last survivor. Should they kill me, then you will be vindicated." The Skittari Sergeant pushed his way past the others, heading out into the open. "Let him go" said Corom "but keep the heavy bolters manned." The remaining Skittari manned the guns, as Ruskin swore under his breath.

Malak stood and watched as Narthen emerged from the bunker, holding his hands wide to indicate no weapon. "My Lord, I am at your service" he said, kneeling in the snow. He looked up at the sound of a bolter being cocked. Xerxes held his weapon pointed directly at the Sergeant. "Captain, keep your vigil for real enemies. I shall deal with this." Turning back to Narthen, he ordered him to stand. "How many more survivors are there?" he asked, as his gun-servitors swept the surrounding area for hostiles. "Just myself, The rest of the expedition gave their lives fighting the xenos. I killed the remaining, and tried to revive the wounded, but they all expired." Malak nodded. "Just as well. Well, get a weapon and follow me. I require someone experienced in fighting the xenos of this world. Now, which portal did you breach?" he asked, as they set off.

Deja's voice cut over the squad vox-link. "Inquisitor, we have contact. Genestealer and Gaunt bio-constructs. They also have a Carnifex." Malak gestured to the Thunderhawk. "Kill them. I won't be long. If need be, get airborne and scour the ground with inferno bombs." Xerxes and his squad moved to intercept, as the Thunderhawk powered up, hovering higher to get range on the swarm. From above, the tide of Genestealers and Gaunts flowed around the bellowing Carnifex. A shell from the battle cannon blew it into bloody chunks, but the rest kept coming. Deja kept the bugs at a comfortable distance, while the others took up covering positions and herded the beasts into Crucio and Torvald in the middle. Crucio opened up, his Holocaust gun searing the approaching broods apart faster than any flamer. They literally were liquefied by the mutagenic toxins and corrosives, dissolving into a foul slick of hydrocarbons and ichor. Soon the swarm was retreating, as the skill and ruthless determination of the Deathwatch forced them back. The Thunderhawks' battle cannon wiped out the retreat, as Deja and the dropships heavy bolters scoured those broods still attacking. Dozens of inferno bombs spiralled from the underbelly launchers, as the remains of the beasts where incinerated.

Malak moved through the ice caves with ease, the layout very familiar to him. Narthen followed, under the watchful eyes of the pair of gun-servitors. "So you lost contact with the advance team here, correct?" queried Malak, scanning the bodies and discarded magazines around him. "Yes, all we heard was screams and calls for assistance before the vox cut out" responded Narthen, gripping his stormbolter. Moving down the tunnel, neither noticed the pair of eyes following their progress from the shadows. Malak stepped into the cave, noticing the butchered corpses and the black door ahead. "Idiots, fracking idiots" he muttered, seeing the gash torn in the metal from the meltaguns of the Skittari. The owner of the weapon still held it, despite his arm being long seperated from his body. Malak stepped over the cadaver and swiftly accessed the machine-spirit for the door. "Execute protocol Sigma, designate all unregistered contacts hostile." Malak quickly uploaded the signals of the Thunderhawk, his Deathwatch Marines, the gun-servitors and Narthen as friendly. The door cycled open, repair drones moving to the door. From above, a trio of twin-autocannons tracked the four figures as they entered, before re-asserting their aim on the outside. The trail of Skittari bodies ended a few meters inside, the lead soldier missing his head. "Your Ommnisah didn't protect him, a sense of self-preservation might have" snarled Malak, kicking the dead corpse. Narthen bristled. "These soldiers were loyal to the Imperium, and they died not from their own ignorance, but that of our superiors." Malak shot the Genestealer as it emerged from the shadows, his shot saving Narthen. "Try to concentrate on the objective Sergeant, instead of arguing with an Inquisitor." The Skitarri blasted a Gaunt apart as it tried to flank one of the gun-servitors. The heavy bolter on the same servitor came to life, scything down three Genestealers trying to flank the Inquisitor. "My lord, I think we should leave." Malak ignored him, pushing deeper as the number of Tyranids attacking increased. They made it to the elevator, as now dozens of Gaunts assaulted, all cut down by volleys of accurate mass-reactive shells. Xerxes voice came over the vox-link. "Inquisitor, the number of broods attacking us is increasingly steadily. I request that we leave now." Malak cut the link flippantly, continuing regardless. Narthen and the servitors followed him down the lift shaft, pausing only to stave off the Gaunts flowing down after them.