There is no Peace, only the Laughter of Thirsting Gods

[Shadows Beckon]

The void between star systems is not so peaceful a place as one might be lead to believe. Particularly not in the Delta Segmentium, where the contortions of The Warp throughout the sector was subtle, enigmatic and malign. It was not prone to violent warp storms, but rather sudden shifts and changes that would astonish and confuse even experienced Navigators, as the light of the Astronomicon is bent, shadowed and twisted to throw ships from their course, or bring them to impossible destinations in no conceivable manner of time. Thus the emergence of a vast space hulk into real space from its cloying reaches is not a rare occurrence, as the bending of time and space contort and wreak havoc upon those pour souls lost in the Immaterium.

This hulk showed no signs of habitation to those Adeptus Mechanicus logicians examining it's emerging signatures, it certainly did not seem to be under any kind of propulsion and had no signs of infestation by orks, or worse nightmares. Thus, when it was identified that a large section belonging to the hulk had once been what was clearly an Imperial vessel of great size and power, twisted into the massive wreckage a priority alert to standing forces was issued by the Adeptus Administratum that the hulk be seized in the name of the Emperor, that it might yield perhaps some lost secrets for the glory of the Imperium of Man.

The random emergence and entering of the Warp by space hulks is well documented throughout the Imperium, and little concern was given to the circumstance of this particular hulk. No thought was given that this hulk might have some purpose, some sinister motive, some intended ill to those servants of mankind who would so brazenly brave it's depths . . .

 

[MironaX]

"Scan the landing areas one last time. I will suffer no surprises in our docking of the ship." Cannoness Dahlya Krieg's voice carried across the entire bridge with ease. She stands calmly, her powered armor covered with purity seals and various emblems telling the tale of her many heroic deeds. Her left hand rested comfortably on the gilded storm bolter strapped to her side, her right hand fingering a chain of prayer beads crafted from pure obsidian.

"Ma'am, scanning complete. No lifesigns detected at any of the proposed docking sites. No energy signatures or suspicious tech either. Any of these four zones will be suitable for an insertion." Battle sister Vorria answered from the navigations station where she overlooked the technicians work. Vorria was Dahlya's Celestian Superior. Over the last few years she had shown remarkable potential, so Dahlya had taken to personally train the warrior for the duties required of a Cannoness.

"Good. Prepare your Celestians and the Repentia. We will enter the third docking zone, it's closer to the bridge. Destroy zones two and four, destroy three after we are clear. After taking control of the ship we shall exit zone one." She turned around sharply, her vividly red cape billowing behind her as she moved.

"Mistress? May I ask why we don't simply perform an extraction from our docking site?" Vorria asked, careful not to sound disobedient or doubtful of her superiors decision.

"Because Vorria. Zone one is very near the secure cargo hold. And the Administratum will be anxious to know if any Imperial treasures or artifacts are aboard. A waste of our time, but less paperwork when this is over if we check for them." With that Dahlya exited the bridge and made her way to her personal chambers. Once there she sealed the door behind her. She went to a knee and pulled a small wrapped package from under her own rack.

The Cannoness immediately felt a surge of emotion as she held the package. Anger, joy, lust, pride, sorrow all flooded her mind as she pulled the wrappings from a small metallic disc. On the disc was an image no mortal could create, a face in the grips of every emotion the human mind could comprehend. Around the face was several glyphs that she had yet to translate, if anyone knew she had this, and Inquisitor would be dragging her away very quickly. Dahlya sighed, she regretted the moment she ever touched the thing, but she relished the sensations it allowed her to experience. Her faith, her path she willingly chose had no room for such things. Only devotion should live within her heart, she had been waiting for a chance to be rid of it, convincing herself that it was too risky to throw it out.

"Immortal Emperor. Give me strength and purge these impure thoughts from my mind. And forgive my weakness." She re wrapped the damnable artifact, and made her way to the docking bay. Once out of her room, her face became once again an image of strength. No matter her feelings, her sisters would see only the might of Adeptas Sororitas.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

As the warrior maidens of the Ecclesiarchy readied for the search and reclamation of what had once been the Imperial Battleship Praetorian they could be secure in that their sensors had indeed picked up no life readings or telltale signs of ambush as they prepared their final docking sequence. There were not many forces in the galaxy who could foresee what was in store for them in fact, as their ship docked a strange artifact began to glow to life in one of the upper gun decks of what had once been a proud warship of the Imperial Navy. Now however it had been melded and bonded to a great deal of debris till it was only part of the greater space hulk, and its mass had merged with more than just Imperial Craft. Like an expanding splinter, the remnants of what had once been a great warp gate, now equally twisted by the haphazard whims of Chaos it had once again found it's connection to it's brother gates, the great network that had once been the circulatory system that had preserved the greatest empire the galaxy had ever seen.

The Webway. One of the greatest triumphs and curses ever to be born by the Eldar. Created in their golden age it allowed effortless, secure travel across the galaxy through the Warp. With their fall however, it was like a malignant tumor, and many a lesser race and malign entity had sought to use it for their own nefarious purposes. The Eldar themselves no longer truly controlled it, nor knew the complete extent of it, but they more than any other race could use it to their greatest advantage. And now, it was their dark kin who had found this long forgotten entrance, hidden amongst this innocuous space hulk, the perfect trap for any prey they should choose to capture and enslave.

The gate rippled and pulsed, tearing out into real space as the Dark Eldar raiding party began to pour out, into the upper decks deep in the reaches of the hulk, still just barely a whisper in the Warp, but already a more immediate threat to the Sisters who even now were beginning the exploration of the supposedly deserted ship.

 

[MironaX]

"Fan out sisters. Five meter spread. No sound." Dahlya commanded, and her sisters obeyed. With ruthless precision Vorria and her Celestian moved to cover every entrance to the hanger that was now their docking bay. Their massive power armor moved with the same agility and grace as their own bodies, they were angels of war. Behind her fourteen sisters Repentia stood ready. Their bare skin already glistened with sweat, it was hot on the hulk, and humid. An oddity, but the hulk itself was a monument to impossibility. Dozens if not hundreds of ships, satellites, and stations all twisted together into a floating amalgam of horror. Dahlya had seen before the things that lurked within the walls of a hulk. Things beyond imagination, things that could shake the faith of even the hardiest priest.

Dahlya held her custom Storm Bolter with one hand, up next to her shoulder so she could fire immediately. Her standard issue power sword hung from her right hand. And Grimfate, her own personal weapon. An Eviscerator type chain sword like the Repentia carry, only hers was crafted on Mars itself. It was a chain weapon and a power weapon at the same time, the fury of it's motor drowned even the most demonic roars, and it's teeth could rend even Ceramite. It hung from a harness on her back.

"Cannoness. Only one path is usable. It leads away from the bridge, however Sister Idanni carries the Multi-melta. If the schematic holds to this corridor.." The battle sister pointed to a hologram of the ships original layout. "Then we can cut our way up to the bridge level and go straight into the command deck from this bulkhead."

"Excellent work. Make it happen sister. Take point Repentia!" The sisters Repentia started moving quickly. They were hindered only with their Eviscerators. So they covered ground quickly, and if any threats met them during their course, then there was nothing better for them to meet than the Repentia. Fanatical, fearless, and without any mercy or restraint.

"This is Dahlya Krieg to the Revenant Dawn. We are en route to the command deck. Commence destruction of docking zones in five seconds."

"Copy that sister. May the Emperor guide you." With that Dahlya followed after the Repentia, Vorria right behind her.

"May he guide us all." She said as the Revenant Dawn poured destruction into the Hulk. Leaving only molten slag to tell of her passing.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

As the Sisters began their ascent up towards the command deck of the ship, the raiding party was making preparations of it's own. Kaltus emerged from the Webway's entrance only a few seconds after the first of his raiders, but already they were busying themselves fanning out to scout out the corridors they had prearranged their ambushes for. This had all been set up by the Archon and his Haemonculi as a trap to lure any mon-keigh foolish enough to spring it, and now it was Kaltus as Dracon of Kabal Scerree, to be sure it was a fruitful endeavor. They had explored most of the decks and had a good layout of the hulk before coaxing it into position to emerge from the Warp, and he had made personally sure that each of his raiders knew which ambush routes they were responsible for.

Behind Kaltus now emerged his retinue of incubi, loyal and voracious killers who served as his personal guard and strikers, and behind them Haemonculus Tseeran, and a cadre of his choice Grotesques. Kaltus sighed from inside his helmet, as their was no love lost between Tseeran and himself, even by the standards of Dark Eldar within the same Kabal. He was an effective tormentor and useful yes, but had no mind for military matters and found the favor of the Archon in the entertainment he provided. A sudden tremor however distracted Kaltus form his musings of the failures of their Lord Archon and he immediately turned to his incubi. "Report!" He demanded as the display from his helmet lit up indicating the direction of the explosion, and route to the hulk's entrance. "Dracon, the mon-keigh have begun boarding the ship and have destroyed the entrance at the lower gun decks." His incubi responded, and Kaltus grinned.

"The vermin have cut off their only escape route and even now advance into our web . . . ", Tseeran said, rubbing his hands maniacally as he turned towards Kaltus who nodded politely in response. "We shall allow them to advance, up to the third tier before the trap is sprung." He said, making it clear that he would be giving the orders here, "The mandrakes will surround them, while you take the wyches and their beasts to cut off their escape." Then turning to his incubi and raiders he nodded. "Then, we shall have them." There were cackles and howls of approval from his forces as they immediately spread out, moving silently and swiftly down the corridors of the hulk into two separate forces, adjusting as the Sister's penetrated deeper into their own demise.

 

[MironaX]

Dahlya stood motionless as Sister Idanni sliced through the durasteel bulkhead with ease. Her the beam of heat from her multi-melta carved the ceiling into molten slag. Dahlya, Vorria, and every other sister with a line of fire aimed their bolters at the soon to be opening. And after thirty seconds of blinding light and intense heat, a portion of the bulkhead fell onto the floor. They all waited, motionless and silent. Then after ten seconds of silence Vorria moved ahead, careful not to step on the still molten metal she surveyed the entrance. With a tap on her holo-scanner she got a 3-d rendering of the corridor above.

"Cannoness. The route so far holds true to the original schematics. The next floor we should be able to reach through this shaft right here, but the shaft is damaged. The Repentia will have little difficulty scaling it, but anyone in power armor will take some time to rig up an ascension harness. Or we can cut our way through the ceiling again and take the risk of damaging vital bridge systems." Dahlya sighed. Those were only half the difficulties between the decisions.

"Not only that. But if we cut through, we will alert any threat that may be inside the bridge, giving them a full ninety seconds to prepare an ambush. If we scale the shaft we will have surprise, but no viable exit strategy." She considered the options. Their mission was to take the bridge and secure the Hulk. Exit wasn't an option anyways. Plus, the risk of damaging the vital systems and walking into an ambush was far too great to take that path. "We scale the shaft. Repentia! Take point!"

Again the barely clothed soldiers moved ahead with speed and agility. Slinging their massive blades over their backs as they used each other as human ladders to climb through the opening. Her unit was through and reached the shaft in barely four minutes. They were making excellent time.

"Alright sisters. Prepare ascension harnesses, I want half the squad up with each trip. Repentia! Scale the shaft and secure us a landing. If you meet resistance then hold your ground and kill as many as you can. Death is your fate, death is your gift. We will be with you soon. Until then, may the emperor guide you." She watched the Repentia until they were out of her sight. Then she turned to Vorria and the Celestian. The moment she turned she felt a pang of some unknown sensation. She felt a sudden heat in her abdomen and without a doubt knew it came from the accursed artifact. Heat flooded down from her stomach to her thighs, and everywhere in between. Without betraying her cold demeanor she whispered a prayer, focusing her mind and blocking the sensation out. As soon as she had a chance, she would be rid of the thing.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

Melting their way through the shaft was a move unexpected by Kaltus, and thus the arrival of the Repentia on the upper level, already securing fighting space along the corridor while still Tseeran rounded the Battle Sisters to cut off any escape. They're rapid advance down the tunnels would have easily made for a much more difficult situation in running down and surrounding pockets of resistance, a laborious and potentially costly effort on his part, were it not for the Mandrakes. Maneuvering through the cramped, ill-lit corridors and even crawlspaces of the hulk was a task perfectly suited for the deranged creatures. No longer truly Eldar, they were more like the warp beasts of the wyches, useful so long as they could be controlled. And with the promise of slaughter and captives, it was not difficult to bait them into surrounding and delaying any unforeseen advances by the mon-keigh.

As the Repentia squad advanced, it was to utter silence within the corridors of the hulk, the shadowy passages and bulk heads taking on a malevolent atmosphere more like a dark wilderness than the sterile halls of a ship. They could take heart and faith that the Emperor watched over them, that the feeling of being watched, of being baited by foes unseen, predators just out of sight was a trick of the mind, a flaw in their focus to be redeemed when truly they faced their foes. But their fears were not so unfounded as might be believed. As they crossed through an intersection of passageways, the two Repentia furthest in back seemed to be suddenly enveloped in shadow as an ear splitting howl erupted from deep within the darkness of the passage in front of them.

The Mandrakes sprang from every corner of darkness, their flesh blending with the shadows with a fluid naturalism no technology could replicate. Their needle teeth and elongated claws were the stuff of nightmares, and demons of the Warp to which they had long been exposed and the attacked with a growing frenzy as the scent of flesh and spilled blood drove them wild. The were surrounding and amongst the Repentia in a swirling melee, even as their Eviscerators roared to life, mangling and cleaving through their bodies with ease, but it mattered not to the loathsome, twisted creatures. They were numerous and agile where the Repentia were ungainly with their massive weapons and though many fell beneath the whirring teeth, it was inevitable that others were subdued, dragged off into the darkness by the hissing, screeching warp-spawn.

 

[MironaX]

The mistress does not command. Her duty is to ensure the Repentia follow commands. So long as they do their duties, the Mistress remains silent. Ohkorra Veshyr had remained silent until the shadows began to move. Without the Cannoness she was all that kept the Repentia from losing their minds and bodies to madness. She had fought this foe before. She was a veteran of nearly sixty battles, to look at her you would see a striking woman, who's face held both youth and experience as well as scars. You would not know that thirty five years of her life had been dedicated to the penance of the fallen. She knew well this foe's tactics, to move with the darkness, to be the darkness, to make fear a weapon and cut deep with it's edge.

"SISTERS! TEAR THEM DOWN! KEEP YOUR BACKS TO EACH OTHER!" She lashed out into the moving shadows with her bladed whips, feeling the bite of flesh as she carved flesh from bone. "FALTER NOT SISTERS! DEATH IS YOURS TO GIVE IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!" Her fanatical devotion had earned her many a honour throughout her career. It also carried the Repentia far beyond their capacity. But slowly they were overrun. The dark fiends that assaulted them were too numerous, and the Repentia could not use their Eviscerators too their full potential in these tight spaces. Eventually even Ohkorra was overrun, her whips torn from her hands, they wanted her alive, for she was not killed. Instead as she fought them off with her armored hands they tore into her suit, slowly damaging the circuits until the motors slowed and the power died. She could do nothing but swear and bide her time as she was drug off into the darkness with her repentia. She would wait, she would find time, and she would strike.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

The Mandrakes were many things, but they were not perfect. They were talented, patient, methodical hunters yes, but they were not terribly efficient. It took great lengths to be sure they did not devour their prey on the spot, and Kaltus knew no threat, no promise, nothing that would motivate them to go about their work as efficiently, cleanly or nearly as quietly as he should like; as he would kill. They had overwhelmed the Repentia, yes, but they had made a terribly bloody mess doing it, and their raucous howls and the sounds of gore and slaughter echoed through the halls of the hulk alerting anyone who cared to listen that blood had been spilled within the decks of the hulk for the first time in perhaps a millennium. And blood spilled would call for yet more blood still.

Kaltus knew as his scouts relayed that the Mandrakes had met resistance, that their prey would be similarly alerted, and he was pleased. He was pleased because the purpose of the Mandrakes was yet twofold: they were advanced scouts for her and his Raiders, but they were also bait in and of themselves. Already their battle had bought time for Tseeran and the wyches to maneuver behind the mon-keigh, and they would be much more delicate in their pursuit and the eventual ambush, waiting until the time was right and their doom assured. The mon-keigh would be drawn to the sounds and scene of battle like daemons to the pyre, and then it would be too late.

But for a number of the Repentia, including Mistress Ohkorra Veshyr, it was too late already. The Mandrakes had them in their clutches and were it not for Kaltus's explicit orders, they might have met a grisly fate at the fangs and claws of the cannibalistic fiends. No, their fate was reserved for much darker, more twisted fiends yet, and as the raiders pried the remaining Repentia from their clutches, the beasts howled with a desperation that might yet soon be matched by those who were so recently their prisoners. The armored Eldar relieved them of their weapons, and finding the Repentia still violent and fanatical even under threat of violence were liberal with their use of agonizers and their own neuro-decimators, rendering even the most fervent of Repentia into mewling heaps as their senses overloaded, rending their perceptions between intense pleasure and pain as they were dragged off.

Slave-nets kept them subdued as they were brought back towards the Dark Eldar field base, and Mistress Veshyr could see the foul xenos as they readied for their ambush, her armor keeping her immobilized without need for their torturous tools. At least, for the moment.

 

[MironaX]

Ohkorra cursed quietly to herself as she watched her Repentia reduced to husks by the xeno's torturous weapons. One by one they fell and were dragged off, until she was dragged along. Her armor kept her prisoner enough, they must have decided not to waste their devices on her immobile form. She had an idea of what was coming, and she would keep her calm. The only reason dark eldar take prisoners is for slaves or for pleasure before disposal. Twice before she'd been subjected to the dark vices of the xenos, each one she'd bided her time until she could call the wrath of the emperor upon them. This time would be no different. Her only failure was her inability to inform the Cannoness of their fate.

--------------------

"They were taken." Dahlya surveyed the landing at the top of the shaft. The base area was untouched, empty, but only meters ahead the halls were scarred by fresh battle. Massive gouges showed where eviscerators had dragged across walls, scorches showed where Ohkorra's power whips had burned, and numerous smaller gouges gave light to smaller, much more sinister weapons.

"Genestealers?" Vorria asked.

"No. Genestealers claws leave distinct marks, gouges, tears, they would not have stopped with the Repentia. They would have swarmed us in the shaft as well. No....this is Eldar. Dark or otherwise, I cannot say. But look at how fine the cuts are, only Eldar weaponry can cut through metal while being that thin." This did not bode well. She would assume the Repentia dead, she would assume the Mistress Ohkorra was alive until she saw the body. That woman was invincible. For now, it was her and the Celestians.

"Do we pursue?" Vorria asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"We do not. The Repentia are likely dead or incapacitated, so they have met their desired end or will do so soon. Ohkorra will not die so easily, and would not want us to follow her. She will reach us again. We continue the mission." She started to take a step when another pang of heat from the talisman hit her, it took all her will to keep from doubling over. Normally it emitted a myriad fog of emotion, now it was concentrating on pleasure. Maybe it was trying to tell her something....all the more reason to be rid of it. She forced herself into motion, silent prayers and focus eventually drowned out the talismans effect. Within moments they reached the blast door to the command room. "Open it."

"Yes Cannoness." Sister Myreya moved to the control console and began restoring it's power. Within a minute, the doors began to slide open. All celestians trained their weapons on the growing entrance. Idanni and her Multi-melta, Myreya, Sassia, and Keira with their Twin-linked bolters, Freya with her hand flamers, and Vorria with her heavy bolter.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

Ohkorra was herded along with the surviving Repentia into a hastily erected corral of fine, mono-filament mesh, sharper than any razor wire, but for now it mattered little as her armor still kept her immobile and the Repentia were still rendered mostly nonsensical from the xenos neuro-weapons. From her position she could see as a particularly skeletal Eldar, clad in dark robes, with foul intentions in his eyes, perused over them, before being approached by a more heavily armored Eldar, the raiding party's commander. Harsh words were briefly exchanged between the two before they both stalked off, the Haemonculus with a final glance backward before they both disappeared down separate corridors, leaving the battle sisters with only a token guard for now.

-------------------

Before the doors were even half-way open, the plasma charges that had been attached to the other end of the door erupted in gouts of white hot energy, blasting the hatch the rest of the way open, and burning or blinding anyone standing too close or unlucky enough to be looking directly at the blast without flare compensation. Even as the smoke from the blast cleared, more smoke, unnatural warp spawned smoke poured out of the command deck filling the corridor with a fine mist that seemed prickly about the skin, even as the fire fight erupted. Dark Eldar shredder fire poured out of the hatchway; a bright hail of splinters that forced the Sororitas into the cover of the corridor's hatch combing. No enemies yet presented themselves, but suddenly, out of the dark and smoke of the entrance, a metallic monstrosity glided effortlessly out of the hall.

Cramped in the tight corridors, the Talos presented an easy target, but it's blades and stinger were already bright with eldritch technology, and it waded through the fog towards the battle sisters with the baleful aura of any demon. The construct was not their only worry however, as the dissonant, baying sounds of warp beasts and the battle cries of the wyches reached their ears, rapidly approaching the corridors they had just vacated, having circled around them to close the trap which the mon-keigh had been so kind to spring.