Prologue

"Reavers"

 

 

The Imperial Star frigate slid through the black of space, its only companion the silent world of Proticou far below.

Captain Larson was standing at the forward view port, gazing out at the sleeping planet, when Lieutenant Phorpe arrived on the bridge.

"Report from engine crew," he said briskly. "All damage from that marauder attack has been repaired. The ship is back to full fighting readiness."

"Thank you Lieutenant," Captain Larson said carefully, hiding a smile; "Inform the Inquisitor," the Captain added.

Larson returned his gaze back to the view port, looking down on the planet Proticou.

The bridge was somewhat quiet except for the sounds of the bleeping consoles, being monitored by the crew members. Darkness shadowed out most of the bridge except that of the metallic floor, lit up by a low blue light. The bridge doors were guarded by two Storm Troopers, attired in dark green uniforms, clenching their hell-guns tightly, and standing motionlessly with expressionless faces, yet poised ready for sudden attack.

Moments later, the darkness of the bridge was lit up from the opening door. Inquisitor Lord Taharan of the Ordo Hereticus entered the bridge, dressed like something from the Middle Ages. His hair was long and scraggly, yet his face was that of a man in his mid fifties. His chin bore a string of scars, as if some sort of creature had clawed at his face; probably a Genestealer. Just below his neck was the Inquisitors "I" symbol.

He was attired in a long grey leather trench coat, drooping down to his black pointed boats. Holstered on his belt, his own crafted las-pistol, coloured mostly in gold.

"Ah, Inquisitor, we have arrived at Proticou. As well as that we have managed to repair all damage done in that last raid," explained Larson.

"Good," Inquisitor Taharan replied.

A sudden beeping from crewman Salinas' console drew their attention.

"Report," Larson ordered.

"We have a vessel approaching. From the surface of Proticou, sir," she said.

Not having the knowledge of this system like that of Taharan, Captain Larson looked to him for some guidance.

"Inquisitor?" he asked.

The Inquisitor looked across the chiming console for himself, with a most disgruntled look dressed upon his face.

"Inquisitor?" Larson asked again.

"She is reading hostile, Captain." Salina interrupted the silence.

"Ready the forward guns," Larson ordered to his crew, stepping closer to the view port for a look.

"I do not understand. I was told the planet was devoid of life. Could be a Reaver Ship," Taharan mumbled.

Larson watched the approaching vessel quickly move closer.

"She probably is. I do not recognise the markings from that vessel," Larson added.

"What?" asked Lieutenant Phorpe.

"Forgive me, Lieutenant. I forget that you haven't my experience of space travel. Reavers are the worst kind of pirate you will ever hear of."

"Why is that Captain?" Phorpe asked, with a most concerned look pressed upon his young face.

"Reavers were once like us - the Imperium's finest naval patrol ships."

"So they are like us. That should be an easy fight," Phorpe interrupted.

"How naïve of you. No, they are not like us, they are men gone mad. Some say it is because they have spent too long in the furthest reaches of deep space. Others say it is because they have travelled through the Eye of Terror and returned warped. Whatever the reason, they are no longer human nor are they animal. They disfigure themselves and feed off our flesh when they can. And if we are lucky they will only rape us while the feast upon us. They will do this while we still breathe, Lieutenant."

"Have you ever seen one, Captain?"

"If I had I would not be standing here."

Inquisitor Taharan bleeped his hand comm. "Sister Periar..."

"Inquisitor."

"Prepare for battle."

"I do not understand, Inquisitor, why not just shoot them from the sky," Lieutenant Phorpe asked, whilst stroking his long moustache.

Taharan looked across the bridge at Phorpe. Then, choosing to ignore him, he looked across at Captain Larson.

"Have your Storm Troopers ready for uninvited guests."

Without even acknowledging him Larson flipped the comm at Selinas console; "Sergeant Griegg, ready the men for invaders."

 

***

 

 

***

 

 

Chapter One

"The Voice"

 

The darkness surrounded Chief Librarian Grailin, leaving little light across his face, except that which was not shielded by his psychic hood. He stood motionless, looking at the stars. Attired in his Librarian blue ceramite armour, yet retaining both his crimson fists. One was clasping his tall staff with its golden eagle at the top, and purity seals hanging down from the pole. Across his chest he wore an open book of spells, on a chain that hung from his neck. He stood at the centre of the Forge Hands Bridge. Servitors manned most of the bridge consoles, chattering away with each other in binary. Attired in crimson sackcloth were two serfs, sat lower down from where he stood.

Behind him stood Korde, the Company's Senior Sergeant, standing as tall in height as him. Only attired in Midnight blue ceramite armour with both his fists as they where crimson. His face was also covered by much of the darkness that surrounded the bridge, except for the flashing lights from the consoles.

Grailin stood facing the large window before him, looking at the stars and beyond.

"The Inquisitor's frigate is gone from here, Grailin," Korde said as he stepped closer to him, stroking his short, cropped, white hair.

"I have no doubt that you are correct, but Chapter Master Pedro ordered us here. It was here Inquisitor Taharan disappeared, my friend. Keep scanning."

The sensors bleeped and chimed as the serfs looked for more than the stars that surrounded the darkness, which the Forge Hand drifted motionlessly through.

"Grailin, we have drifted here for seventeen hours now and still nothing has revealed itself to us. Surely he is long gone from this place now."

Grailin turned his gaze from the stars to look Korde in the eye; "Possibly. But remember, we have a lot of space to look through. Just because Taharan's Inquisitorial frigate is not visible to the naked eye does not mean it is gone. Ever thought that it could be mirroring the stars themselves? Out there like us drifting sleeping within this darkness."

Grailin walked slowly up to the face of the window, looking beyond his reflection staring back at him. One of the distant stars flickered enough to catch the attention of his eye. Raising his arm, he pointed out across to it.

"There. The planet Proticou, take us there."

The serfs revved up the Forge Hand's engines.

"My guess is that what ever has happened, Proticou may well hold the answer," Grailin added.

Korde stood at Grailin's side, watching as the star became closer.

"Take command of the bridge, Sergeant. I'll inform the Captain," Grailin said.

 

***

 

Syakotus walked slowly through the darkness that surrounded him, and stalked his every breath and movement. The only visible object in sight was a green glowing sphere, set out before him. 'Come' it called to him.

'Come to me' it called in an almost audible whisper. He felt compelled to advance towards the sphere. As he got closer he began to hear the soft hum of gentle violins. The glow of the sphere with its hypnotic green fluorescence was mesmerising him, taking over his every movement.

"Your Emperor calls you. Come, come. Find me in Proticuo."

Syakotus realised the voice was actually inside his head...but how did it place itself there?

He reached to clasp hold of his sword, but had the sudden realisation that it was gone.

'You have no need for weapons' came the voice.

Syakotus found himself standing before the sphere, his whole body bathed in the green glow. He held out his bionic hand over the glowing orb in its suspension of darkness.

"What are you?" he asked aloud.

"You know my name...I am Necrosphere."

With that, the sphere combusted into thousands of pieces of glowing crystal in the darkness.

"Embrace!" came a screeched, forceful and meaningful tone of voice.

The smoke from the shattered orb formed into an apparition, rather stealthily. Syakotus barely saw what it was before it amalgamated within his mortal body.

 

Opening his eyes with his forehead covered in a cascade of sweat beads. Syakotus looked up and out at the stars from the darkness of the training hall. Behind him stood Grailin.

"Your dreams are getting more regular. I sense evil," he said looking down at his Captain.

At that Syakotus rose to his full height, attired in crimson sackcloth drooping to his bare feet.

"What are you saying Grailin?"

Grailin stepped up to his face slowly, looking his Captain in the eye.

"You will be forgiven," he said as he drew his knife and proceeded to slit Syakotus across the throat.

 

Syakotus opened his eye in conjunction with his bionic eye, which glowed red through the darkness of the empty training hall. He rose to his full height, attired in crimson sackcloth, from the hood over his head to the bare of his feet. The hood fell on to his shoulders as he tilted his head, and gently clasped, with his hand, his throat.

"More visions?" Grailin enquired from behind, letting the light from the doorway flood across the empty darkness.

Syakotus suddenly turned towards Grailin, and in a stern tone responded with; "Yes. But there is something more...this time the visions gave me a name...Necrosphere."

"Intriguing," muttered Grailin.

"Indeed. I have not heard that name in over fifteen years."

Syakotus paused with his hand still gently clasped across his throat.

"So what brings you here to interrupt my meditations, Grailin?"

"We have set course for the planet Proticou. It looks as though the serfs have picked up a trail from Inquisitor Taharan's frigate."

Syakotus turned back to the long rectangle window of the training hall to view the stars.

Releasing his hand from his neck, and pulling what was left of his hood from his head, he revealed his short cropped hair fully. The sides of his head and the back, were shaved bald. A wire came from the side of his chrome left bionic eye, into the side of his head.

"Have the brother's combat ready and mounted on the Thunderhawks." There was urgency in his tone; he did not turn to face Grailin.

"As you wish Captain."

Grailin bowed and began to exit the hall, yet stopped in his tracks when his master suddenly enquired; "Grailin, what advice do you have for me about this vision?"

"I have none to give. It sounds more like sorcery. However, ever since we arrived in this system I have sensed something traitorous in the air. A different kind of evil that I just cannot put my finger on."

"Have the servitors bring me my armour," Syakotus ordered.

"I think it is time that I informed Chapter Master Pedro Kantor of my unusual visions," he said in a low voice to himself, whilst watching Grailin depart from the hall.

Grailin curved back towards his Captain. "No...I advise we keep this from him...for now at least. We need to find out what these visions are first."

With that Grailin was gone from the hall, and with him the light.

'You will be forgiven,' Syakotus heard once he was covered in darkness. "What the hell does that mean?" he said to himself.

 

***

 

Clotuk watched from the bridge of a cloaked Barge. Two Thunderhawks disembarked from the Crimson Fist battle cruiser Forge Hand.

"The Chosen One has arrived," he said, turning to face Krupeus.

Both men were attired in black sackcloth with hoods covering their faces completely.

"Good. We must prepare for him," Krupeus replied.

Chapter Two

"Psychic Presence"

 

The atmosphere within the Thunderhawk was warm and clammy. The sweat rolled from Captain Syakotus' face, under the moist and humid conditions, from the cockpit. He stood upright behind his two pilots, watching the metallic mass of the Inquisitor's frigate drifting limply on its side, growing closer. The whole mass of the frigate looked like a gigantic, ancient gothic cathedral, with a spear head leading its way.

"I can't see the docking bay, Captain," Gillis reported, checking his scanners whilst the lights flashed through the darkness of the cockpit, dashing his fingers across the control panel set before him under the low light.

"What's that there?" Syakotus said, pointing at their destination, bending forwards to take a closer look of the gothic looking structure they were fastly approaching. Gillis leaned forward.

"Ah, yes, I see it," he said, leaning back in his seat, flicking the switch releasing the landing legs. With a clang that echoed and a shudder of the whole craft, the crew wrenched forwards slightly. The legs came down ready for landing.

"One minute and counting Captain," Gillis said, beginning the landing procedure.

Korde, the company senior Sergeant, stepped in the cockpit doorway. Both his fists were crimson red and clenching his thunder hammer tightly in his grip.

"Have the men ready. I do not want any unwanted surprises," Syakotus said, gazing upon him.

"The first obstacle will be getting Tech-Marine Graus to the engine section. Wherever that should be."

"That should not be a problem, as long as I can interface with the internal systems," Tech Marine Graus said, stepping into the cockpit behind where Korde stood.

"Agreed. Hopefully our adversaries will not be too hostile. We will need to deal with them with utter swiftness. Our main priority will be finding Taharan." Syakotus paused momentarily to see the dark cathedral-look of the ever-closer frigate through the darkness.

"Look at the size of that thing," Graus said, looking at the strange gothic looking church positioned at the centre on top.

The Thunderhawk tilted forwards, giving the crew a second wrenching to their stomachs. Gillis started entering the Thunderhawk into the landing bay. This was lit up in a dull green light.

"Hold on to something. This is going to be rough," Gillis said.

The nose of the Thunderhawk tilted upwards before settling down and levelling on to the docking platform. With a sudden shudder their stomachs wrenched upwards with the change in the gravity.

"We're down, Captain," Gillis announced.

Syakotus fed a thick wire into the Storm Bolter latched to his left wrist. Flexing his fingers around the trigger on his palm, he then cocked it ready for immediate disperse.

"Lower the ramp. Squad Korde disembark," he ordered as the thrusters died down.

 

Once off the Thunderhawk, Korde looked around the large landing bay. The bay was high in height and very wide. The chrome floor was covered in blast holes and stained blood, as was that of the walls. Behind Korde stood Horton, followed by Linnex. Both were holding their bolters tightly. Frieh stepped forwards holding out his auspex.

"There is still life aboard. But whatever it is...it is weak," he said, looking into Korde's bare face.

Syakotus stepped off the ramp, followed by Graus.

"Gillis, remain with the Thunderhawk," he ordered. Flexing his bionic fingers, he walked through the doorway out of the landing bay, followed by Graus and squad Korde. Turning back to face his men, Syakotus said; "Let's find Inquisitor Taharan and get off this tin bucket."

 

Grailin stood at Apothecary Lenthos side, in the front cockpit of the Thunderhawk, now approaching the unnamed vessel. Jinn sat in the pilot's seat, steering the Thunderhawk into the side of the vessel.

"I sense a presence within this vessel," Grailin said.

Lenthos removed his clean, white helmet revealing his dark coloured skin, resting the helmet by the doorway. He brushed his crimson fingers through his black hair.

"Looks to me like a Reaver ship.

"I find that intriguing as I sense a psychic presence within it."

"Moving into dock, hold on," interrupted Jinn.

"Sergeant Redeka, have the scouts ready to disembark," Grailin ordered.

 

Once the Thunderhawk had latched on to the side of the unknown vessel, the side lasers cut a hole large enough for the Marines to step through. Sergeant Redeka was the first to step into the dark corridors, followed by the other four scouts. All were armed with shotguns, and once inside they cocked them ready for action.

The inside of the vessel was covered in curtains of bare flesh that had being stripped from others.

"Freaky," said Vedd, the scout stood in the lead. The five looked above them.

"AARRRGGG!" screeched the Reavers jumping down on to the scouts from the roof. Fully clad in the flesh of other dead humans, they attacked the scouts, armed with sharp blades and clubs.

Redeka jumped backwards, firing his bolt pistol into two of them. Vedd fell to the ground clenching his shotgun with both hands, whilst firing hot shells into those that came near him. From the hole the scouts came from, a psychic blast flew into four of the Reavers, incinerating them instantly. Sergeant Gevedin pounced from the hole into the Reavers. Armed with lightning claws on both hands, he sliced and diced his way through the diabolic looking creatures that were once human. Blood splattered across his armour, with him cutting into the Reavers. The rest of Gevedin's assault squad jumped through the hole, followed by Grailin.

The Reavers were clad in human flesh using them for clothes. Most of them had disfigured their faces with shards of metal and barbed wire. One of the Reavers grabbed Grailin's right arm and started to chew through the ceramite. Grailin looked down on the abomination.

"Be gone," he screeched.

With that the Reaver combusted into a ball of blood and guts. Lenthos reached his arm through the entrance hole, clenching his bolt pistol. He began to take careful aim at the Reavers, picking them off one by one. The noise within the dark and damp corridors became somewhat deafening from the constant sounds of gun fire. The air became very humid. Bullets ricocheted from the blood soaked walls. Grailin dropped to his knees, summoning his fear. The fear channelled its way through his brain, and then from his psychic hood and spread into the Reavers. The Marines managed to gain the upper hand, whilst the fear had stunned the Reavers.

"I pity that of the weak minded," Gevedin yelled, cutting into the last of the living Reavers.

Once the Marines had readied themselves they stood across the corridor.

"Split into groups and search this bucket for any more of these creatures."

Lenthos stepped up to Grailin.

"And what of you Grailin?" he asked.

Grailin looked into the eyes of Lenthos. "I must find this psychic presence."

"And what if you succeed?" asked Gevedin.

"I do not know," Grailin replied.

Syakotus entered the cockpit of the Inquisitorial frigate, slowly followed by Korde, clenching his bolter plasma combi tightly.

"We have a faint life sign in here Captain," said Judson, holding his auspex out.

Syakotus curved towards Judson, who stood gripping his bolter tightly with one hand whilst holding his auspex in the other hand. Behind him stood Frieh and Moref, followed by Techmarine Graus.

"Where?" Syakotus asked sternly.

"Just in front, Captain. In fact, it is just below that control panel."

Syakotus bent down on one knee to look behind the console across the blood-stained floor. He saw an Imperial Lieutenant crouched in a ball, rocking. The Lieutenant had had his face cut and one of his eyes gashed out. Syakotus also noticed that one of his hands had had the fingers cut off. Korde bent down besides his Captain.

"What the hell has happened here?" he asked.

"I do not know. But it looks as though we are not going to find Inquisitor Taharan alive."

Holding out his bionic hand, Syakotus clasped hold of the young looking Lieutenant and gently pulled him from behind the console.

"No, no please leave me," the Lieutenant cried.

"We will not harm you."

The Lieutenant looked into Syakotus' bare face.

"Do you know what happened to Inquisitor Taharan?" The Captain asked.

"They were quick and brutal. They made...me watch...them rape crew man Salina...Once they had finished with her she...was no longer beautiful...the bastards ripped her face off."

Korde looked at Syakotus.

"This does not answer the question."

"He is traumatised."

"You aren't kidding," Korde replied.

Syakotus turned back to the Lieutenant.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

"Thorpe."

"Well, Thorpe, can you help me. I need to know what happened here."

Thorpe looked into Syakotus' face again.

"Reavers. They attacked us...Then raped most of the crew...The Inquisitor...was taken into the ready room by...by a strange, tall figure..."

"What did he look like?" asked Korde.

Thorpe looked at Korde.

"Inquisitor Taharan...called out his name."

Syakotus rose to his full height.

"Yes. What was it?" he asked softly.

"Salvanfor."

Syakotus stepped back. Korde looked to his captain.

"So he is not dead," he muttered.

"Nor is the Necrosphere," Syakotus added.

 

***