| abstract
| - He had to be hearing things again. Martin Holland, personal Astropath to Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Jorden Moris, looked over the shoulder of Namius Tabrin, The Red Oddessy's Cheif Navigator, to see the twisted and warped hunk of steel and adamantium that loomed in the Black Ships view screen. He had never in his short life seen anything so gargantuan, so alien, so... sinister. As he stepped out from behind the Navigators throne and looked upon the Hulk, he realized why the called it the Edifice of Despair. He stood motionless, caught in the still chaos that was the hulk, bulkheads twisted this way and that, entire hulls warped and molded into insane shapes and forms. He fought back a queasy feeling and forced himself to look away. He was startled when he heard, or rather, felt something whisper his name. It wasen't unusual for him to hear voices, but rarely did they come in so clear... so... strongly. A firm hand on his shoulder rudely yanked him back to reality as he stifled a small yelp. "Boy." The Navigator spoke firmly, "Inform the Sector Command that we have a visual on the Hulk, and are awaiting the Inquisitors orders." The Navigator had a taciturn but not overly unkind face, though his ancient and heavily wrinkled features may have had something to do with his sagely appearance. His white main of hair was long but receding at the forehead, and his mustache cascaded down his lavishly robbed body to his waist. His dark brown eyes spoke of great wisdom and nobility. Martin nodded, wondering just how old the Navigator was, but dutifully pushed those thoughts aside as he prepared and sent the message. The Navigator stared impassively at the hulk, for it was not the first he had seen one, still he felt the aura of evil that permeated each and every one of them. It was always distinct, the dread one felt looking at the mauled and twisted cluster of metal, but it ceased to bother Namius long ago. He didn't take his eyes off it for a second though, not even when one of his attendants presented him with his daily glass of citrus juice. He sipped the tart beverage lightly, enjoying the flavor as it ran down his throat. "Boy." he addressed the young Astropath, "See that the Inquisitor receives this." One of the Navigators attendants passed a dataslate to Martin. "Yes sir." He dutifully bowed and hurried out off the bridge, thankful to be away from the view of the Hulk. __________________________________________________________________________________________ A clash of blades echoed through out the arena. Two figures locked in a struggle of wills and ability, a battle that would never end. One bore the skull and laurles of the Lords Exemplar, while the other was marked with the fanged skull of the Marines Baleful. The other members of the Kill-Team stood at the sidelines, accompanied by one mortal figure. "They are really at it this time." Murmered Takashi, his bionic eye studying both marines intently. "Aye," Calos responded "I think it has something to do with Specters comment, about the cloak." Takashi smirked, remembering fondly the Marines Baleful's jab at the Lords Exemplars need for flare. His gaze passed over the Watch Captain and the Apothecary, who were likewise captivated by the struggle of egos that took place before them, while the Sniper tended to his wargear for a second time and the Black Shield had found a distant spot to meditate. Then Takashi's gaze was met by another one, cool, green eyes stared back at his own for but a moment before casually breaking off to return to the sparing marines. Takashi briefly studied the owner of those green eyes, he was easily dwarfed by the Space Marines that surrounded him, yet he stood as if he were the largest man in the room. He exuded an aura of dominance, of raw ferocity that was belied by his lithe but muscular form. Ferdinand Rotter, Acolyte of the Inquisitor, met the Imperial Hounds gaze for only a moment, but that was all he needed. He was hardly interested in the Space Marines that dueled before him, he had seen them spar over trivial egos enough to understand that neither would defeat the other. He was bored, as impossible as it might seem, but he had just formulated a plan to entertain himself. He waited for a lull in the pace of the battle before him, and then let loose a sharp whistle. Edge, the Deathwatch Sniper, twitched slightly, he knew that tone from his own youth in the ruined hives of his homeworld. It was the kind of whistle that heralded a block war between gangs. Though no such war would happen here, its malevolent nature was unmistakable. All eyes fell on the human, now cracking a lopsided grin. "Now, don't anyone take this the wrong way." He started, spreading his hands innocently and glancing down to avoid the fiery gaze from Nerus' bionic eye. "But, we all know this little pissing contest of yours," he jgesturedto both the Marines, "is goin' nowhere." He confidently, almost arrogantly, swaggered into the arena, stopping just short of the duelists. "You little-" Nerus started, only to be cut off by the Acolytes raised hand, "Please, lemme finish." Ferdinand spun on his heel to face the rest of the Kill-Team, "I'm just suggesten' we try something new." Specter shouldered his way past Nerus, eyes boring into the back of the humans head, "What do you mean 'something new'?" Ferdinand's bony finger shot out at Takashi, "I'm sayen', you two tag team Beastheart there." Takashi exchanged startled glances with Calos, both more than a little surprised by the mortals audacity. Nerus was practically shaking with indignation "Listen here, boy!" he practically spat "We are Space Marines! Not your Throne Damned playthi-" Specter cut the Lords Exemplar off, "What do you wager if we win?" "If?!" Nerus snarled. Takashi glared at Nerus, the slight was more than enough to get him interested in the wager. "I'll polish both your sets of gear for the rest of the month." The Acolyte extended his hand, but right as Nerus reached for it he added, "But if you lose, I get to do what I want to that cloak of yours." Nerus immediately recoiled from the young mans hand like he was a venomous serpent, only to have Specter firmly grasp it in his place. "Deal." Specter gave Takashi a sideways glance, receiving the Imperial Hounds nod as the final agreement. Takashi took to the arena, it was at this moment that Kris realized he had never seen the Imperial Hound in the sparing ring before. Though he knew well the Imperial Hound was no weak link in hand to hand combat, he had his reservations about his abilities against fellow Space Marines, especially the like of Specter and Nerus. Takashi gripped the handle of his ceremonial power sword, and stood motionless, still and resolute as a statue. Nerus slowly moved to his left, mirroring Specter as he moved to the right flank of their opponent. Rather than follow his opponents, Takashi kept his gaze locked on the patch of ground not but a few feet in front of him, performing the minute muscle exercises that had been drilled into him since his tenth year. He remembered those days, though vaguely, holding his current stance for hours, even days at a time until every muscle screamed for release. But as he did then, he stood motionless. Calos had seen this side of Takashi before, when the boisterous humor subsided and he became as cold as steel, two different warriors. Nerus took the first lunge, left power sword screaming towards Takashi's throat with blinding speed, but they met another blade in a flash of light and motion. Nerus was shocked at the sheer speed at which his opponent moved, and struggled to bring his right blade to bare as the Imperial Hound leapt to the side, spinning and bringing his blade in a wide arc to his opponents midsection. Nerus blocked expertly but was sent reeling when Takashi's right foot came up with blinding speed and crashed against his face. Specter lunged, claws aiming for his targets back, but was halted midair as Takashi's left foot slammed into his chest with a mighty clap. All those who witnessed this display of sheer skill were stunned, not even Gridar, with his extensive knowledge of each members biology, expected Takashi to be capable of such a feat as keeping both Nerus and Specter at bay, let alone putting them on the defensive. Nerus redoubled his efforts, shifting to a style reminiscent of the great sword duelists of ancient Terra, blades pointed at his foe as they surged forth. Takashi countered both blades with a sweep of his own, and slammed his shoulder into Nerus, sending him tumbling back. Nerus regained his footing just in time to block a downwards stroke, and brought his free blade up in a savage stabbing motion, looking to flay his target. Takashi lept back, narrowly escaping Nerus' furry. Specter saw his opening, rushing forth with a left handed swing, whole body soaring through the air like a feline predator towards his target. Takashi spun into the blow, knocking his foes strike away with the flat of his blade and bringing his elbow sharply into his face, sending Specter sprawling next to Nerus. The two took a moment to look at one another, quickly, without a word, the two formulated a plan of attack. Both Space Marines stood, pacing slowly towards their target who had taken the stance of his Chapter, arms slung out before him, blade level at his foes. Nerus and Specter picked up their pace, rapidly closing the gap between them and their foe, weaving in between one another like a pair of serpents as they sprinted. Both lunged at their target simultaneously, Nerus sliding on a knee, bringing his blade to bear at his foes legs, while Specter leapt into the air, claws rushing towards Takashi's throat like a pair of crackling missiles. In one blur of motion, Takashi had Nerus on his knees, his own blade pointed at his throat, and Specter flat on his back, Takashi's own blade pointed at his throat. There was a stunned silence that filled the arena, save for Ferdinand's content applause. "Nice work there Beastheart! Now Nerus if you don't mind?" Takashi offered a hand to Specter, who took it. With one motion Takashi hauled up his fellow Space Marine, who gave the Imepiral Hound a good natured pat on the shoulder. Takashi then offered Nerus the same kindness, only to have the Lords Exemplar bat his hand away, making in intelligible snarl as he did so. As Nerus hauled himself up and Ferdinand approached him, hand outstretched. Nerus begrudgingly unclipped the cloak and cast it at the mortal, who caught it, cracking another lopsided grin. Then bell tolled. They had arrived. "You heard it Theron," Gridar bellowed "to the briefing ______________________________________________________________________________________ The Kill-Team had assembled in the briefing room, standing before them was Jorden Moris, looking stern as usual, accompanied by Sister Superior Isador, who's pale blue eyes regarded the assembled Space Marines with a mixture of reverence and awe, Hector the servo skull, who hovered silently over the Inquisitors shoulder, and Chev, the Inquisitor's faithful Cyber-Mastiff, his tail wagging in a surprisingly friendly way for a lethal killing machine. Jorden nodded to the Kill-Team before powering up the holoprojector, which displayed a massive, twisted mass of long-dead ships, the Space Hulk no doubt. "As you probably know, the Edifice of Despair an ancient Hulk, dating back to before the Imperium even existed." Jorden said, gesturing towards the holo-projection. "This is the very reason that Calum Dorsis, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, was so interested in it. Two hundred years ago, he boarded the Edifice with an elite team of Inquisitorial operatives and Storm Troopers. None of them returned." "What was the Inquisitor looking for?" asked Specter, suddenly interested. He had dealt with a Space Hulk once before, the Blood of the Warp. The Marine Baleful still rrememberedthe narrow corridors, the darkened expanses, and most of all, the hordes of Genestealers. He had lost many good battle-brothers in that Hulk. "A powerful archotech weapon from the Dark Ages, supposedly able to devastate entire cities with it's power." Jorden responded. "The exact specifics are unknown, but Calum was determined to retrieve it before it fell into the wrong hands." Calos gave an amused chuckle. "And now you want us to retrieve it. Sounds fun, but what sort resistance awaits us?" Jorden payed the remark no mind, having long gotten used to the Sentinel's sense of humor. "Bio-scans have revealed a colony of Gene-Stealers lurking aboard the Edifice, but that's nothing new. What is troubling is that our Astropath has been detecting strange psychic emanations coming from the hulk, possibly a side effect of the weapon. Either way, be cautious. "As if we weren't going to be." grunted Nerus, still fuming over his bout with Takashi and the loss of his cloak. Ignoring the moody Lord Exemplar, Jorden continued. "We received a Inquisitorial distress beacon from deep within the hulk, making your mission thus; find the source of the distress beacon, recover the archotech weapon, and if Lord Inquisitor Calum is alive, then recover him as well." Kris whistled, a low, sharp sound. "That's quite the tall order Inquisitor." Jorden almost smiled at the Watch Captain's reply. "If I doubted Kill-Team Theron's abilities, then I wouldn't be sending you." "Point taken." said the Golem, turning to his team. "Kill-Team Theron, move out!" Jorden brooded over the Holo-Projector long after the Kill-Team had left the briefing room, staring intently at the projection of the Space Hulk. There was a niggling doubt settling in his gut, something that had been bothering him the entire time. Inquisitor Calum had boarded the Edifice of Despair with more than enough manpower at his back to have taken on an army, let alone a Space Hulk. So why had the Lord Inquisitor disappeared? He still had no answers. The door to the briefing room swung open, revealing the armored form of Damon Glaw. "Sir." said the Afriel Strain Soldier, giving him a curt salute before handing him a data-slate. Glaw was flanked by Raul Ruiz, a mercenary who had joined Jordens retinue some time ago. He smoked an Iho-Stick as usual, and wore his shaded lenses. His pale skin was almost as colorless as that of the Afriel Strain that stood beside him. "What's this?" said Jorden, taking the slate and looking over it's contents. His eyes slowly widened with shock as the horrifying significance of the data-slates contents dawned upon him. "Has Kill-Team Theron departed yet?" he demanded with urgency in his voice. "Yes sir." said Glaw, who seemed unperturbed by his superior's plight. "Throne dammit!" swore the Inquisitor. "Get them on the vox, NOW!"
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)