by Braden Campbell, Mark Clapham, Ben Counter, Chris Dows, Peter Fehervari, Steve Lyons
A pair of jaws clamped around his left leg. The reinforced plating of his greave buckled slightly but did not give way. Again he brought his maul down, and again he made his attackers bleed.
Still, the damnable things refused to die. Distantly, he realised that they were trying to render him defenceless by pinning him to the floor, and that it was only the magnetic plating in his boots that was holding him upright. He saw his brethren fighting back with the righteous zeal that befitted loyal servants of the Deathwatch.
He shouted an oath to the Emperor. Then a long talon raked across his faceplate.
Half blinded, Cassius swung his crozius on instinct. He felt reverberations up the length of his arm as an alien skull exploded across the weapon’s weighted end.
A dark maw filled his vision as one of the creatures made to bite at his faceplate. He drew his pistol from the holster on his hip, and fired.
In the airless vacuum, he was denied the rewarding sound of a bolt leaving the chamber. Instead, he had to content himself merely with the sight of the monster’s head exploding into ribbons and shards of bone.
Cassius wiped his eye-lenses clear. The last of his attackers had somehow sprung backwards and was now scuttling up the wall. Cassius fired at it three times, but it dashed out of the way towards the ceiling. In its wake, it left deep claw marks in the metal plating. When it was directly overhead, it sprang at him.
Its mouth was gaping in a silent roar. Its tongue moved like a snake.
Cassius drove the crozius past its lethal teeth and out the back of its skull in a blaze of concussive force. Its body, headless but still twitching, bounced away towards the storage chamber.
Cassius whirled around. Five more of the aliens drifted lifelessly around his men. Donatus and Teven were still on their feet, flanking the blast doors and firing down the stairwell with the boltguns. Koden was on his knees – he had apparently managed not only to dislodge his attacker, but cleave it in two with his power axe. But tiny jets of gas were venting from the back of his armour, evidence of a breach all the way to his sealed undersuit. Captain Ectros was standing over the body of Brother Radovan, whose right arm, Cassius noted, was now missing below the elbow.
His instincts had proved correct. Port Cepheus was infested with genestealers.
‘Kill team,’ he growled over the vox. ‘Report!’
‘We have two men wounded,’ Ectros replied. ‘One of them critically.’
‘I’m fine,’ Koden growled.
‘Pranus here, my lord. We are on our way to you.’
Cassius shook his head. ‘No, Brother Pranus – remain where you are. The xenos have the tactical advantage in this place.’
Ectros slipped an arm under Brother Radovan and lifted him up, while Cassius moved behind Koden. The Space Wolf’s armour had indeed been breached in half a dozen places. His enhanced lungs would protect him for a while, but Cassius knew that not even the toughest of Space Marines could operate at full combat readiness for very long in a total vacuum and expect to survive.
‘Donatus, lead us out of here,’ Cassius barked. ‘And send word to the Veritas. We will clarify the extent of our operational jurisdiction. Mark my words, I shall not suffer this infestation to remain.’
At the top of the stairwell were five dead genestealers, each shot through half a dozen times. Donatus shoved their drifting corpses aside, clearing a path for the others. Retracing their magnetised path through Port Cepheus’ dark, airless corridors, they passed the smashed barricades and habitation levels without incident.
They reached the second level, where the space was thick with drifting detritus. Cassius motioned for everyone to go ahead of him. Donatus, Teven and Koden started down towards the entrance level. Ectros, still carrying Brother Radovan, moved to follow them.
Suddenly, tables and chairs were being knocked aside.
Cassius had remained halfway up the step to the third level, where he could survey the cluttered room from on high. The control room, a confined space with limited firing avenues, had been an excellent place for an ambush. So too was this.
His diligence was rewarded.
There were five of them. They came at Ectros from all sides, but this time Cassius was ready for them. He shot two dead as they sprang from their hiding places. Then, bounding down the steps, caved in the skull of a third one with his maul.
Ectros kept hold of Brother Radovan as he spun around. Levelling his chainsword across his body, he caught the first of the remaining genestealers in its thorax as it leapt at him. The second one, however, ploughed into him at the hip, and wrapped its monstrous clawed hands around his abdomen. The ceramite gave like waxed parchment, and cooled gases vented from his ruptured plate.
Over the vox, Cassius heard a sound completely unfamiliar to him. It took a full second for him to realise that it was Ectros crying out in pain.
The captain brought his sword down, and severed two limbs off the creature attached to him. It twisted away, trying to save itself, but Ectros lunged and caught it in the chest, the chain-blade chewing its way between two bony, rib-like plates.
Cassius struck the final genestealer, collapsing its exoskeleton and covering the crozius’ golden wings with foul ichor.
The wounded captain’s breathing came over the vox in sharp gasps. ‘Right through my armour,’ he muttered. He inhaled deeply, altering the pressure in his lungs and commanding his enhanced body to start conserving oxygen. He gave a comradely nod to Cassius, and continued down the stairwell.
As they exited the central tower back through the voidlock, Cassius called to Pranus and the rest aboard the Pride of Ghosar.
‘Brothers, activate the freighter’s engines. Prepare it to leave the port.’
‘Yes, Brother-Chaplain,’ Pranus replied. ‘I will have the others meet you at the starboard lock.’
‘No,’ Cassius said. ‘Once the ship is ready, you are to follow its return course back to its home system.’
A moment passed where none of the kill team members said a word. Finally, Pranus cleared his throat. ‘Chaplain, a kill team cannot be divided without higher authorisation.’
‘Inquisito lethale omni tempore,’ Ectros said quietly. ‘At all times, lethal investigation.’
‘We have been commanded by a higher authority,’ Cassius said. ‘Our original mission stands – the Veritas and the kill team under my command are to pursue Drogg Mordakka and the remains of Waaagh! Mek unto their righteous destruction. However, Brother Donatus reports that the Veritas has received additional orders from a Watch Commander Vaerion. Do you know him?’
‘I do not recognise the name,’ replied Pranus. Ectros shook his head, glancing back as Donatus sealed the voidlock behind them.
Cassius continued. ‘It matters not. I am to divide the kill team, and dispatch you to Ghosar Quintus on a new mission that will be relayed separately. The new team is codenamed Excis.’
No one else spoke.
‘We are the Deathwatch, brothers. For us, this is more than a mandate, more than a mere mission. It is a holy charge! It falls to us to purge the stars of inhumanity so that mankind may inherit them once more. This was what our great master, the Emperor, began ten millennia ago, and we are the heirs of his undertaking. Drogg Mordakka still lives, and that cannot stand! The planet Vinicus must have retribution. The blood of millions cries out from the ground for us to avenge them, and we will oblige. I will find the greenskin leader, and I will end him. Yet, I cannot also ignore this new threat. Here too, Imperial lives have been taken and must be answered for, blood for blood.’
‘Therefore, Pranus – you, Omid, Thalassi, and Siegfric will go to Ghosar Quintus. Whatever else Watch Commander Vaerion tasks you with, you will find the source of the genestealer infestation and you will eliminate it.’
‘Yes, Brother-Chaplain,’ said Pranus. His enthusiasm, stoked by Cassius’ homily, was evident even over the vox-channel. ‘We will go at once!’
‘And I will go with you,’ Ectros said. ‘We
should divide the kill team equally.’
Cassius glared at him. ‘If you are going simply to uphold protocol, then you need not bother. You are wounded, and we do not yet even know the extent of the mission to Ghosar Quintus.’
‘I am going because my battle-brothers on that freighter need someone to lead them. I am going because it is what you would do.’
Behind his faceplate, Cassius smiled grimly. He raised the crozius arcanum above his head. ‘Then go, Captain Thaniel Ectros, with all the blessings of the Emperor. Go with praise for His great name and damnation for His enemies, and He will be with you, yea, even unto the end of all things.’
Ectros passed Radovan to Donatus, saluted the group with the sign of the aquila, and headed towards the Pride of Ghosar.
‘Shall I call the Veritas for retrieval?’ Donatus enquired.
‘If the ship were to dock, then the genestealers could find their way aboard. We cannot risk it. The port has one more lander. We will take that, and invoke full quarantine protocols upon arrival.’
‘Then we will return and cleanse the station,’ said Teven, ‘once the wounded have been healed.’
‘No, we will continue the hunt for Drogg Mordakka,’ Cassius replied. ‘That continues to be our primary duty.’
Donatus inclined his head. ‘But what then of Port Cepheus?’
From the command deck of the Veritas, Cassius watched as the Pride of Ghosar slowly moved away from the station. He recited a prayer for those in departure, and then ordered the forward gunnery crews to obliterate the port’s nearest stabiliser.
‘The watch captains will question this decision,’ Donatus muttered.
‘But not my motives,’ Cassius replied. ‘Not my resolve. By this act, we purge any remaining xenos infestation. Had I more Space Marines and more time, I would do it with more discretion. As it stands, I have neither.’
The deck plates beneath their feet shook as the Veritas’ weapons were readied. Then, searing beams of light shot out from her bow, cleaving into the station’s flank in a cascade of explosions.
Port Cepheus, mortally wounded, began to tilt.
Three stabilisers were not enough to keep it aloft, and the gravity of the gas giant below began to drag it downwards. Farther and farther it fell towards the swirling cloud tops, picking up speed as it went. Mounting external pressures caused the superstructure to crumple in upon itself. The docking piers bent towards the central tower. Further detonations ripped along them as the promethium in their storage vaults ignited, ripping along the length of the intake pipes. Into the infernal, crushing, stygian depths, went Port Cepheus, compacting and burning with every mile, until it finally vanished from sight.
Only when he was certain that the entire station had been utterly destroyed did Cassius order the Veritas to break orbit and renew the search for Drogg Mordakka.
Only then did he send word to his superiors in the Deathwatch of what he had done.
‘I trust that the Chaplain’s account answers all of your questions, brother?’ Drusus asked pointedly.
Seumas, deep in thought, looked up and nodded silently. Drusus wearily rubbed at his temples before continuing.
‘Then, if there is nothing further, we will return to the issue at hand. Chaplain Cassius, there has been no distress call received from Captain Ectros, nor any other member of Kill Team Excis. It is to be assumed that they never reached Ghosar Quintus, most likely falling prey to genestealers while on board the freighter Pride of Ghosar, which also cannot be found. Your petition to assemble a new kill team and undertake a second mission in force to the Ghosarian System is hereby denied.’
Cassius’ eyes grew wide with surprise. ‘Then I will go alone.’
‘Your dedication is an example to us all, Chaplain,’ Captain Bresnik sighed, shaking his head, ‘but there are other wars to fight, and other engagements that demand our attention. This is simply not a priority for the Deathwatch. Your petition is denied. May the Emperor guide you all the rest of your days. This council is adjourned.’
The scribe-servitor completed its hectic quill strokes. The three thrones of the watch captains lowered themselves to the floor, and the desk portions swung open. Bresnik rose and walked quickly out of the chamber. He did not so much as glance at Cassius as he passed. Seumas remained seated, his focus turned entirely inwards. Drusus got up from his throne, and walked to the servitor. He tore the length of parchment from its mouth, and rolled it into a tight scroll.
Cassius finally broke his stunned silence. ‘Captain Drusus, I must protest.’
‘The decision stands, Chaplain. Need I remind you that your original mission remains incomplete? Drogg Mordakka remains at large.’
‘I am not one to question the judgement of my superiors, but–’
‘Then, as your superior, trust me when I tell you that there is no need for you to travel to Ghosar Quintus. Return to your quarters, Cassius, and meditate upon the wisdom of this council. We cannot chase ghosts and phantoms through all the dark corners of the galaxy.’ Drusus took the record of the inquiry and placed it into a pouch on his belt. As he left the chamber, he called back over his shoulder. ‘It is almost certain that the Pride of Ghosar was infested with genestealers after leaving its home system.’
Home.
For a moment, Cassius thought of the magnificent mountain ranges and windswept lowlands of the Ultramarines capital world. It had been entirely too long since he had last set foot upon it, or been within the walls of the Fortress of Hera. He could return there now, if he so chose, and watch the golden domes of the Chapter monastery blaze in the light of the rising sun. He could once again walk through its vaunted halls, and praise the Emperor and primarch in the Temple of Corr–
‘You’ll never see it again,’ Seumas said.
Cassius’ head snapped around. He and Seumas were alone. ‘Do you mean Macragge?’
The watch captain rose up slowly from his seat. ‘The record of this meeting. Our Brother-Captain Drusus will either destroy that scroll, or bury it in a scriptorium so deep that it will never be seen again. Not by you or I, or any other living being.’
‘Why would he do that?’
‘Why indeed…’ Seumas moved slowly towards Cassius. ‘Do you uphold the sanctity of confession?’
Cassius blinked.
‘It has been a long time since I have heard the confessions of any Space Marine,’ he replied. ‘Have you been derelict in your duty somehow?’
‘No. Quite the contrary. But, in the course of serving the Emperor, I have had to… dissemble. I have had to keep information from my brothers-in-arms while I discerned which of them I could truly trust.’
‘And you trust me?’
‘After hearing about the incident at Port Cepheus first-hand, I do. I asked you earlier if you had ever heard the name of Chaegryn.’
‘I have not.’
‘Chaegryn is the name of an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor.’
‘Very well. What does that have to do with me?’
Seumas began walking slowly towards the door. ‘As I said, I have been keeping information. Collecting it. Sorting it. Finding connections, parallels, and… unpleasant coincidences. When your report came to my attention, I tried to corroborate some of its details. And, within the records of the Deathwatch, I came across a handful of mentions of the very star system that Captain Ectros went to investigate.’
‘Ghosar.’
‘It was a report from one Inquisitor Chaegryn. Heavily redacted. Entire sections of it had been covered up or erased. Still, there was enough left to provide a partial picture. It seems that the Inquisitor went to Ghosar Quintus to investigate an alien threat, one that drew a lot of unwholesome attention from his peers. Shortly after arriving, Chaegryn sent back a message saying that all was well, that there was no problem whatsoever, and that under no circumstances should anyone attempt to investigate the matter further.’
The watch captain halted. His gaze was cold.
‘Brother-Chaplain Cassius,
almost all other information regarding that star system has been purged. Were it not for your report and a handful of bureaucratic remnants, its very existence would be in doubt. And Ghosar Quintus is not the only such example. Over the past two thousand years or so, more than one hundred and twenty worlds on the Eastern Fringe have likewise reported the presence of genestealer infestations, and then all but vanished from Imperial records.’
Cassius did not know what to say. Seumas glanced around them before continuing in a more hushed tone.
‘There is a conspiracy at work here, and the creatures you encountered at Port Cepheus appear to be integral to it. Sweeping portions of the Deathwatch are ignorant of these facts – either wilfully, or because they haven’t taken the time to put together all the pieces of the puzzle. But I have. I can give you the requisition codes for the documents in question. It’s all there, in the archives.’
Cassius stared. ‘You’re insane,’ he muttered finally, and turned to leave.
‘Then go to Ghosar Quintus. I’m sure you’ll find all the proof you could ever want.’
‘The other watch captains refuse to sanction my petition.’
‘I know someone who could approve it anyway.’
Cassius froze, his hand hovering just above the door plate. He glanced over his shoulder as Seumas closed the distance between them once more. ‘Who?’
‘Watch Commander Vaerion.’
‘And what of the kill team selection?’
‘I would suggest that you begin your own preparations now. I would go myself, but that would raise too many questions. I have no idea how far this rot has already spread.’
‘Are you so certain of what we will find when we get there?’ Cassius asked.
‘I am certain of the danger. You and I both know that there is far more to these beings than mere vermin clinging to hulls and hulks.’
Still, Cassius did not move.
‘We both neglect our duty by doing nothing,’ Seumas said. ‘I can offer no further argument.’
‘It is enough,’ Cassius said as he left the chamber.
Vael Donatus was standing by a grand viewport on the embarkation level when Cassius found him. Through the armourglass, they could see the Veritas being prepared for departure. ‘What did they say?’ he asked. ‘Did they approve the petition?’
