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+++fiction+++nquis Xenos - Purging hostiles since 1892.
Inquisitor Maul by Leroy Chew
The dank alleyways of the underhive sprawled before him like some ancient maze as Inquisitor Maul slammed home another clip into his autopistol. A sudden ping of a ricocheting bullet served to remind him of the situation at hand.
He had been sent by the Ordo Hereticus to investigate the leadership of the Hive world of Thallus Prime in Segmentum Pacificus. Recent Inquisitorial probes had yielded discrepancies in tithe payments from the planet and the possibility of Heresy had been postulated. It was his mission to discover the truth behind this veil of deceit.
A few days after his arrival he soon discovered the true nature of the discrepancies. A chaos cult had risen on the world and had corrupted the governor - the discrepancies in the tithe payments were part of a plot to divert resources toward the building of foul chaos temples so that they would serve to attract the attentions of their Dark Masters. After infiltrating the governor's staff, Inquisitor Maul slew the corrupt governor and his bodyguard and recovered documents hinting toward an ancient relic, pre-dating even the Horus Heresy on Thallus Prime. This relic, the 'Concordat Chaosium' is what he now sought.
He could do nothing to stop the chaos uprising however and soon, hives all over the planet were being overrun by hordes of fanatical cultists, minor daemons summoned from the Warp and corrupt Planetary Guard. He had sent a distress call to the local Imperial garrison a few systems away by mind controlling a corrupt astropath, and a regiment of Cadian Shock troops was on its way to pacify the planet. Now however, his main goal is to find and retrieve the Concordat.
Another shot rang off the metal wall close to his ear - the noise nearly deafening him. Gathering his mental energies about him, Maul sought the soul-flame of his enemy. Sensing his high and above him in a ruined hab-bloc, Maul sidestepped out of cover and snapped off several precise shots at the sniper. With his enemy distracted, he ran across the alley toward a rusting fire escape.
The distraction only worked for a few seconds as return fire from the sniper pinged around him, a few punching neat holes in his billowing robes just as reached the ladder. He holstered his pistol and with near superhuman speed he ascended the ladder, the sniper partially hidden from view by some crumbling masonry. As he reached the top he could feel the sniper's warp-presence nearby.
He ducked through the shattered window, and a volley of laser fire smashed into the wall next to him. Quickly sliding behind a low wall he reached out with his mind's-eye to search for his enemy again. The las-fire ceased and he heard the faint whine as its power cells recharged. In two quick strides he slid around the wall and halved the distance between him and his assailant. A metallic objected flashed in his hand as he covered the remaining distance, a snap-hiss sound escaped from it as a scarlet blade grew from the metal cylinder. Maul briefly registered the terrified look of his opponent as he desperately tried to bring his laspistol to bear - the strong smell of faeces as his opponent lost his bowel control told Maul what a coward he was. With a quick flick of his wrist his enemy fell in two in a burst of crimson gore.
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The brief warp jump between Rynn's World and Thallus Prime had made Obergefreiter Franke uneasy. Though he had spent much of his life travelling through the immaterium between campaigns the thought of only a warp stasis field separating him from the untold horrors beyond chilled him to the core. He once thought he could hear whispers in his mind during a particularly long warp voyage but was mocked by his fellow Cadians as a telepathic wannabe. He had also told Commissar Holtz - his platoon's commissar - about the whispers and could still remember his words:
'Do not stray from the Emperor's light, corporal, for once you start down the path of damnation there is no redemption.'
Since that day voyages through the warp had become a little more uneasy…
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Commissar Junkus Holtz sat in his spartan quarters studying his latest orders. A distress call had been received only a few short days ago from an Inquisitor on Thallus Prime regarding a mass chaos uprising. Shortly afterward all communications with the world was lost. Now he was part of a strike force sent to crush the rebellion and restore the Emperor's rule. Soon they would commence orbital bombardment of the landing zone on Thallus Prime before descending in massive troop transports to establish a forward base.
As usual Holtz was eager to serve the Emperor, especially against the foul spawn of chaos. His right arm twitched involuntarily as he thought about his enemy. He had lost that arm battling the daemon hordes on the fortified world of Cadia's Gate decades ago and had replaced it with a bionic one. Though his new arm was stronger and tougher than his old arm he still looked forward to the opportunity to vent his hatred against the forces of chaos. He would, however, have to ensure that the men under his command were equally willing to battle those forces. Suddenly he heard the whistle of the ship's internal vox-caster.
'All hands, prepare for orbital bombardment - all troops proceed to your transports for planetary descent.'
'And so it begins,' he said quietly to himself. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his stub gun headed down to the armoury.
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The troop transport was packed full of Imperial Guardsmen as it journeyed into the muddy green and blue orb below. Commissar Holtz stood along side the leutnant he was assigned to, listening in as he spoke to his command section. 3rd Infantry Platoon of the 14th Cadian Rifles Regiment, nicknamed the 'Gatekeepers' for their many tours of duty guarding the Cadian Gate, had a distinguished history. Since the 31st millennium the Gatekeepers had been the first line of defence for the Imperium against the hordes of chaos. Having participated against every one of Abaddon's Black Crusades, it was filled with veterans and heroes of the Imperium. Yet Holtz had nothing but contempt and disgust for the man standing next to him. Though a physically intimidating man, Lieutenant Wentz did not demonstrate the leadership or courage expected from one of his position. He had repeatedly given orders that sent good men to die for needless causes, he had fled from the face of the enemy, leaving the rest of his platoon to hold the lines. Holtz wondered how such an incompetent and cowardly person ever managed to become an officer.
The transport juddered and shook as it entered the upper atmosphere of Thallus Prime. There were no windows in the troop compartment but Holtz could imagine a kilometre long blaze of re-entry fire trailing the ship. Like a fiery spear it would plunge into the heart of a corrupt and traitorous world. Holtz smiled at that thought. The transport's vox-caster interrupted his musings.
'All troops, prepare for landing - augury probes reveal the landing site to be clear.' Better to be safe than sorry Holtz thought.
'Lieutenant Wentz,' he called out. 'Order your men to ready their weapons prior to landing and secure the area before we deploy the heavy equipment.'
'What? Why? Didn't you hear the pilot? He said that the landing site was clear. We should prepare to move out the equipment and supplies so as to set up a base as quickly as possible.'
'Lieutenant, if you unload the heavy equipment first we will be unable to react if we come under attack. Secure your location before deploying your supply lines. That is a basic tenet of the Tactica Imperialis.'
'But the pilot has already confirmed a lack of enemy presence. We should establish our base before the enemy can attack our position,' Wentz argued.
'The augury's machine spirit may not be able to detect troops at such range and you should listen to what I say, lieutenant, for it is not wise to go against a member of the Ecclesiarchy,' Holtz warned.
'Your suggestion is duly noted Commissar, I will take it under advisement.' With that, Wentz continued to issue orders to unload the equipment upon arrival. Holtz bristled at Wentz's obvious insubordination. He would deal with him soon enough, he thought to himself.
With a whine of thrusters, the massive troop transported descended to the ground, its retro-burners scorching the earth beneath it. With a final thump the transport landed on the cracked earth of Thallus Prime. The moment the ramp of the transport touched the ground; truck transports began to roll forward with equipment and ammunition. Behind them, Leman Russ battle tanks and Chimera transports waited in the cavernous cargo hold to unload. A few platoons of Imperial Guardsmen had stepped off the transport before it happened.
At first Holtz saw nothing as he scanned the edge of the forest surrounding the landing site, then he saw some movement in the trees. Pulling out a pair of magnoculars from within his greatcoat he focussed in on the movement. His heart leapt into his throat at what he saw. He turned to yell a warning to the troops still unloading the equipment but it was already far too late.
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Inquisitor Maul had spent the last few days deep in the underhive avoiding rebel patrols and diseased mutants. He despised this way of life; the stinking murky underhive served no purpose but to harbour the corrupt and the weak. He couldn't wait to be rid of the foul place. Already he felt saturated by it, his robes were soiled with blood and grime and he was smelly and sweaty and wished for nothing but a long session in a de-tox chamber. He silently chastised himself for that last thought - petty things such as appearance and hygiene should not bother an Inquisitor, for his work transcended such frivolous matters. He now sought an underhive information broker by the name of Mikhail Zeitsev - a person rumoured to know where the Concordat resided. However this broker was a known chaos worshipper and so would probably not take kindly to an Inquisitor visiting him. That is why Maul had dressed himself in the heretical robes of a cultist he had slain a few days ago. He would have to anoint himself with cleansing oils and pray to the Emperor for a week to redeem himself for such blasphemous acts - but if what the Concordat was rumoured to be was true, it would be worth it.
He hobbled along the dank streets, his robes trailing in the mud. Hiding in shadows and avoiding direct light, Maul drew little attention to himself as mobs of cultists and mutants roamed the streets. Several times he was approached by would be attackers but a casual manipulation of their perceptions allowed him to slip past. He ducked into an alley and approached a rusted door half covered in festering mould. He rapped his knuckles against he door three times.
'What do you want?' a raspy voice echoed from within.
'I seek knowledge from Master Zeitsev,' Maul replied, his voice gurgling like a cultist's.
'Who sent you?' the voice questioned.
'My lord Tzeentch has whispered to me about his great knowledge and I felt compelled to seek him.' Those blasphemous words felt like bile in Maul's throat and he silently retched.
'Welcome brother, Master Zeitsev waits within.'
The door creaked open on ancient hinges. Maul stepped inside, seeing no guard or doorman he guessed that there must be some kind of foul machinery or sorcerous magiks at work. He knew that Zeitsev worked alone - he trusted no one else beside himself - so he didn't have to worry about guards. Once he had the information he would kill Zeitsev, for the knowledge he had was too dangerous to let spread.
Maul continued slowly through the dark corridors and winding steps, his image as a cultist only allowed him to move with a slow gait. He worked his way down until he reached a sub-basement lit by flickering torches and glowing crystals.
The room was covered in rotting wooden shelves, upon which resided several heretical texts that Maul could identify and many more that he could not. Fungus and grime grew through the cracks in the stone floor and a multitude of cobwebs stretched across the corners of the room. At least this place is cleaner than the streets, Maul thought. Behind a large wooden desk sat a small fat man, wearing simple robes with a hood hiding his face, he hunched over his table furiously scribbling onto parchment of flayed skin that seemed to writhe in rhythm with his quill. He remained hunched over his work as Maul entered the room.
'Ah, so this is the visitor that Lord Tzeentch has sent me.'
He faced Maul said in a surprisingly strong and sibilant voice, 'Tell me brother, what wondrous knowledge do you seek from me?'
'I have heard tell of a beautiful artefact,' Maul began, 'one that holds sorcerous knowledge beyond all comprehension. I wish to obtain this wonderful device.' Maul was careful to hide his features beneath the cowl of his hood.
'Ah yesss,' Zeitsev whispered, his face still shrouded but his hands now resting on his belly, 'you seek the Concordat. It is a wonderful device indeed, the knowledge of Tzeentch's most powerful followers reside within it. Tell me young brother, why do you seek it?'
'I seek its knowledge Master Zeitsev. Like all of Tzeentch's followers I thirst for knowledge in all its forms. I wish to study the Concordat and learn it secrets so that we may use it against the False Emperor has his pathetic lackeys.' Maul's stomach turned as he spoke the words.
'Very well young brother, I will tell you where it rests. But it will be a dangerous quest to retrieve it for it is well protected by canticles of hiding and powerful warding sigils. Not to mention the numerous creatures reported to be guarding it as well,' Zeitsev said with a sly smile, 'However should you retrieve it I will reward you well as long as you allow me to make copy.'
'Very well Master, I will agree to your terms,' Maul replied.
Zeitsev turned around and began to rummage to through a chest full of dusty scrolls. Finding the scroll he was looking for he turned around and pushed it across the desk for Maul to pick up. As Maul reached over to take the scroll he felt a powerful force push him away from the table, sending him crashing into the stonewall behind him.
'You weak-minded fool!' Zeitsev hissed as he stood up, 'do you not think that I can see through your pathetic veil of deceptions? You are no match for my Master's power! You are another of his false majesty's lackeys and I will take pleasure in sacrificing your soul to the Weaver of Fates!'
His hood fell back to reveal his face - a pale twisted parody of a human face that looked half melted, with an elongated mouth ringed with sharp teeth holding a long serpentine tongue. With incredible speed and agility, Zeitsev vaulted over the desk lunged for Maul, crimson fire burning in his dark glassy eyes.
To be continued...
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