The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
Brother Bjorn nearly has his fang slip from his fingers when he lunges forward with it in an attempt to goad the hissing thing before him into offering an opening in its defenses.
Recovering, he pivots on one heel and slashes at its throat with the blade, but the thing is preternaturally quick, and raises the haft of its spear to intercept the strike, driving the space marine's arm downward with a prodigious strength that rivals his own.
The once human thing peels its chitinous lips back in a snarl, hissing a foul stink from between its needle-like teeth, before shoving the Space Wolf, and flicking the wickedly sharp speartip downward in a powerful riposte.
Bjorn pivots on one heel leaping out of reach of the blow, but this only seems to encourage the creature.
To his left he can see its companion clambering up from the hollow below, its long, misshapen arm and the claw at its end proving useful for leveraging it out.
It springs from the craggy declivity and moves to flank the Space Wolf, moving with its upper body hunched forward in a guarded stance, spear leveled horizontally to stab.
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
As the brothers of Kill-team Umbra secure the last of their armaments, preparing themselves for the mission to come, the Storm Warden finds himself standing before a narrow devotional alcove, framed in carved stone aquilae, at the far end of the narrow armory, at what would be considered the 'apse' if it were a chapel.
Touching the a nearby luminal stud, he finds it lit from within by a warm golden light, revealing a recessed interior containing a tall, tattered, backbanner mounted on a fluted, golden standard shaft. The banner is inscribed around its borders with fine calligraphy; devotional verse sacred to the Imperial Creed. Centrally depicted on the banner is an iconic image of the Emperor of Mankind at his mightiest, clad in his golden power armor, the fallen enemies of mankind, human and xenos both, arrayed about his legs, smote in defeat. His fatherly eyes seem to stare through Brother Caledonii, glinting in the warm light of the alcove, and the Storm Warden feels his hearts swell with pride.
He gingerly takes it down from its bracket, reading the High Gohic text surmounting the top of the banner:
'Mors est pretium superbiae'
Simply, "The Price of Hubris is Death."
When I can place the iconography I look around for a pict recorder. "I do not know the origin of this banner do you Brother." If he does not I will use the pict recorder and send a communication to Brother Emeric.
"I have brought the appropriate tools for such examination and trust Brother Vex's opinion with respect to the man."
"Which would lead to my next question. If we accept that Kohl Bennex is telling the truth. Then we have to ask why he was attacked? This would require us looking at the Enginseer Kreth's body. Which would require both your talents working in tandem to find an anomaly."
"Agreed, Brothers. The ship's data-looms confirm Diaz Lan's assertion: no visual evidence exists. I stand ready to analyze the remains of the Mechanicum-Serf."
We exit the cell and make way to the ship's morgue.
When I can place the iconography I look around for a pict recorder. "I do not know the origin of this banner do you Brother."
"It looks familiar, but I can not place it, Brother-Leader."
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
Although both Brother Caledonii and Brother Quintus are unable to ascertain the significance of the back-banner upon cursory examination, something feels important enough about it for the Storm Warden to make his first command decision.
They will take it with them to Aurum.
Perhaps Brother-Librarian Vex will know more of this particular relic's provenance.
Securing the banner to the back of his armor's housing with Brother Quintus' assistance, he nods that he is ready.
Collecting the wargear they have selected for their mission, the Kill-team exits the armory, moving back into the spacious aft hold of the Horizon's Pride
The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
Bjorn's fang scrapes across the warrior's saurian-scale armor, tracing a gleaming silver ribbon of damage, but it does not penetrate to the flesh beneath, as the corrupted thing arches its body away from the blow.
Moving to hem him in, they feint and lunge, before rushing forward in tandem, savagely stabbing with their spears.
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
Diaz Lan accedes to the Astartes request to examine the body of Enginseer Kreth, and conveniently, the remains have been secured nearby, in the Brig's mortuarium, rather than the Medicae deck. As one of the rogue trader's armsmen leads them to an adjoining corridor, Lan explains that it was kept here to simplify the process of the Adeptus Mechanicus' investigation when such a time arose.
The three Deathwatch marines follow the armsman through an open doorway into a confined chamber, barely larger than the cell they have left Kohl Bennex behind in. It is spartanly appointed, even for a morgue, with walls of dull, dark grey metal, discolored porcelain sinks, and a prominent slab-style examination table in the center. The table is angled slightly upward to reveal the deceased, who is secured to it with metal restraints at the wrists, ankles, and waist. Enginseer Kreth is a short man with pallid skin and several minor cybernetic augmentations, as befits a junior adept. The only injury visible on his person is a long, diagonal gash across his hairless scalp that wraps around the back of his head, ringed by extensive, deep purple bruising that radiates outward from the cut like a cloudy nebula.
The room stinks of antiseptic and the malingering smell of decay, likely from the half-dried fluids that have drained down the shallow channels at the edges of the table. A collapsible metal stand holds some instrumentation, much of it primitive compared to the Apothecary's tools, but it does not appear that anyone has conducted an autopsy on the enginseer as of yet.
Diaz Lan then dismisses the armsman.
"It appears from our examinations---and his statement corroborates these findings---that Kohl Bennex wrestled the deceased to the ground and the fatal injury occurred when Enginseer Kreth struck his head on the angled corner of servitor grafting table during his fall."
The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
Brother Bjorn easily sidesteps the more dangerous of the incoming blows, managing to avoid the first warrior's lunge, only to be stabbed in the side, just under the arm, by the corrupted Aurumite emerging from the hollow.
The razor-sharp point of the warrior's spear scrapes across the Space Wolf's scout armor before punching a shallow hole in it, gouging into the marine's flesh, just above his lowest rib.
After taking an auspex reading for spectral analysis, I give special attention to the tech's augmentations. Were they damaged like his physical body? Have they been tampered with?
There is little to be discerned or the clues are beyond my capabilities.
"Apothecary, is head trauma the cause of death?"
"Wound pattern is consistent on initial examination, a full autopsy is required for a definitive conclusion."
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
Utilizing his auspex in conjunction with direct manipulation of the deceased enginseer's augmetics, Brother Emeric cannot determine anything out of the ordinary, at least on his initial analysis.
The Dark Angel carefully examines the head injury and the fading purple hematoma that surrounds it, and can say with absolute certainty that the injury was the cause of the man's death. Probing with forceps, it is clear that there is a substantial cranial fracture beneath the flap of skin, and the trauma of this sharp blow likely doomed Enginseer Kreth.
He is about to conclude his examination when he notices something peculiar. A thready black material that he first mistakes for clotted blood, but upon a closer look, appears to be something else entirely. His experience with injuries of all kinds in the course of his service to the Imperium is almost at a loss to identify what it might be, but as he cuts away more of the pale flesh with his tools, he observes that it seems to extend in a webwork pattern from this one protruding thread throughout the dermis just beneath the skin of the scalp. More perplexing still, it is most assuredly not organic, having more the consistency of a very finely-wound plastic or wire.
I sit in the back of the room waiting patiently for both my Brothers analysis. I hope it will be able to prove the man's innocence.
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
Diaz Lan's mysterious seneschal, Veyoris Akioh, resumes escorting the Battle-Brothers from the door outside the Armory through the vast Primary Aft Hold, passing dozens of secondary vault doors on either side, massive cargo containers, and the towering cargo cranes that stack said cargo into the countless berths that line the ribs of the Horizon's Pride.
The heretofore silent seneschal looks up at the backbanner borne aloft by Brother Caledonii, finally breaking the silence as they pass through the echoing storage bay.
"If I may say, Honored Astartes, with such a truly beautiful icon of the Imperium, you surely will carry the favor of the Emperor himself with you on your mission. I am blessed, and privileged just to bare witness to such a relic, and for this, I thank you."
He pauses, slightly nervous, as if weighing if he has broken with propriety by directly addressing the Storm Warden so soon after the rituals of arming.
"If I am not mistaken, its provenance precedes the Age of Shadow---and the textile quality suggests it is woven from heirloom steel-thread from the Shrine World of Eleusis. A truly breathtaking piece."
"Curious."
I extend a small mechadendrite and pull at the material discovered by the apothecary.
"This is not standard template design. Analyzing..."
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
"Yes it is. Do you know more about its history or the scene it is depicting?"
The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
The warrior-thing shrieks and grunts as it raises the thick spear's shaft, only just deflecting the edge of Brother Bjorn's fang, causing it to sink into the unyielding theratryx femur-bone it is crafted from. Yanking the edge free, the Space Wolf prepares to defend himself as the creature swings the point around to stab at him again. He can sense his other adversary, the one with the deformed claw-like arm, circling behind him, the tip of it's own spear hovering over the space marine's back.
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
"Yes it is. Do you know more about its history or the scene it is depicting?"
The mysterious seneschal rather shyly considers the question, perhaps taken off guard by the hulking Storm Warden's genuine interest in his remark.
"I cannot pretend to possess definitive knowledge of this relic, but judging from the antiquity, craftsmanship, and subject matter it depicts a representation of the Emperor triumphant, likely predating the Age of Shadow. The iconography is surely aprocryphal, as the Great Crusade did not bring the Master of Mankind to the Jericho Sector, but it surely represents the victory of the Imperium during the initial scouring of what would become one of the sector's greatest Shrine Worlds hundreds upon hundreds of years ago."
He gazes with appreciative awe at the banner again before remarking, "the aphorism is a popular one amongst the clergy of Eleusis even to this day, pointing out that unbridled pride is folly; a weakness to be exploited when found in one's foes, and a shortcoming to be expunged from the self if you would be victorious."
He continues to keep apace with the Astartes as they cross the cavernous hold, all of them making for the primary spine corridor at the far end, still some distance away.
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
"Curious."
I extend a small mechadendrite and pull at the material discovered by the apothecary.
"This is not standard template design. Analyzing..."
As Brother Syne and the Brother Vex watch with interest, the techmarine gently excises and peels back tissue with his mechadendrite, tugging at the wire-like material and deftly slicing away the flesh to reveal more of it. His ocular sensoria iris into fine focus, and a feeling of unease begins to grow within him. The black, fibrous wiring appears to extend throughout the dead enginseer's body, and is not only resident in the head wound. It is clearly not of standard template origin, and the material seems to have grown within the dead servant of the Mechanicus, rather than having been surgically implanted therein.
Intending to anaylyze the strange material further, Brother Emeric commits to a finely-focused, pinpoint scan of his auspex. The results are returned far more quickly now that there is a more obvious target for his inquiries.
His first discovery is that the profane material is self-replicating, the damage he has done with his mechadendrite already 'healing' at noticeable rate on the nanomolecular level.
The second discovery is of far more concern. The network of heretekical wiring is some manner of implanted omnidirectional antenna, and it is still receiving a powerful astropathic signal.
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
"Thank you, senechal this is most enlightening."
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
Looking down at the self-replicating webbing I warn my Battle-Brothers, "There is heresy at work here. A foreign membrane has been introduced into this serf. Brother Apothecary, note how it currently repairs itself."
Nodding to the back of the room, "Brother Librarian, an antenna is embedded within the skull. According to analysis it is receiving an astropathic signal. Perhaps using your particular... gifts, might you tell us more?"
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
Analyzing the incoming signal, Brother Emeric is greatly unnerved by the sheer power of the transmission---and the fact that it seems to be originating from the Void beyond the Horizon's Pride. There is something disturbing about the disjointed signal, a churning, corrupted amalgam of machine code and indecipherable speech that begins to make the techmarine's logic-circuits fail.
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
As the Storm Warden and seneschal converse, Brother Quintus' hyper-acute vision detects a flicker of movement from one of the tall, arching crane gantries high overhead in the hold.
I know I can transmit and receive astropathic messages. I am not certain if I can purposefully intercept a direct transmission, but I will make the attempt.
"Brother-leader, be alert, I saw movement above in the crane gantry to the left of us."
I say this as I scan the area for more movement.
I reach out and place a gauntleted hand on a table to steady myself. Activating cyber-subroutines, I make sure my cogitation centers are secure from potential attack.
"Brothers, I detect corruption. A strong signal from beyond the ship... Scrap-code received by this serf's cranial array. This engiseer may have been an agent for the ruinous powers."
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
I know I can transmit and receive astropathic messages. I am not certain if I can purposefully intercept a direct transmission, but I will make the attempt.
Brother Vex extends his mind outward, probing cautiously through the Immaterium and his immediate surroundings in an attempt to learn more about the signal.
Brother Emeric feels a withering wave of nausea and unease fill him as he intercepts snippets of the increasingly powerful signal emitted from the enginseer's corpse. He immediately institutes countermeasures within his internal cogitation arrays, and as the corrupted transmission gains strength, he is grateful for the blessing of the Omnissiah's foresight.
Preoccupied as they are, only Brother Syne witnesses the lifeless body twitch spasmodically for a moment.
The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
.
Brother Bjorn easily dodges the spear thrust, and pivots in place for a brutal riposte.
With a swift recovery, the warrior yanks back the haft of his spear, spinning it up and out, deflecting the Space Wolf's thrust at the last instant.
The hissing thing backs away for a moment, breathing heavily, before growling under his breath and stabbing forward again, trying to time the blow with a simultaneous attack from his counterpart.
As the spears drive in toward him in perfect unison, Brother Bjorn attempts to avoid the worst of the attack, turning his body so that his armor takes the brunt of whichever blow he cannot avoid.
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
The Ultramarine barely has time to shout his warning, when a terrible, mechanical grinding sounds from far above their heads in the cavernous cargo hold. This is followed by an ear-splitting creak of wrenching metal as one of the great metal couplings holding aloft a rust-speckled Arvus lighter breaks free. The deafening sound draws the attention of Lan's seneschal, who freezes in his tracks, turning to look up just as the massive cargo landing craft plummets toward him and the quartet of space marines from directly above.
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
Although Brother Vex cannot decipher the meaning of the message being broadcast through the frail remains of the enginseer's body, he knows with absolute certainty from the cadence and droning repetition of the corrupted transmission that is the work of the Ruinous Powers.
A rhythmic, strengthening signal in screeching machine cant that can only be a call to arms of some kind.
"Emeric stop that transmission! I can not decipher it, but I know with absolutely certainty that it is from the Great Enemy."
"The Enginseer's body and soul have been compromised."
I draw my weapon.
I attempt to contact the rest of our battle brothers via microbead.
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
I grab the seneschal and interpose my body between him and the falling craft as I try to get out of its way.
"Emeric stop that transmission! I can not decipher it, but I know with absolutely certainty that it is from the Great Enemy."
"The Enginseer's body and soul have been compromised."
Vex's warning is unequivocal. Dispensing with precision I grab the serf's entire head and draw my Astartes knife. With my gauntleted fingers I crush the neurocranium, withdrawing the cranial array and cut it from the corpse.
Once sure the device is inoperable I respond, "Communication terminated."
The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Mortuariam A
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
The techmarine's ministrations to the 'dead' enginseer are as brutal as they are effective, although Brother Emeric can only wonder at how long the corrupted transmission has been broadcast. It ceases immediately the moment the cranial array is excised from the twitching corpse, rendering the techmarine surprisingly relieved. The reverberations of the thrumming, chaotic machine cant were beginning to make him feel decidedly unwell.
Perhaps of more concern is to what purpose the message was intended.
Diaz Lan reenters the mortuariam with a pair of armsmen, apparently hearing the commotion from outside, looking aghast at the remnants of the serf's pulped head.
"What has happened?"
The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
Brother Bjorn feels the bite of both spears as they strike the chest plate of his armor from either side.
While turning his body to one side to lessen the spear-thrust from the adversary at his back, Brother Bjorn takes the tip of the other corrupted Auran's weapon deep into his flank. The warrior hisses like an animal, emboldened by its bloodlust, and yanks the spear free to attack again.
The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
Alerted by the Ultramarine, the brothers of Kill-team Umbra move to leap clear of the plummeting transport.
"The enginseer's corpus was tainted by a corruption which endured after death, Brother Emeric has dealt with it. The remains must be incinerated and the ashes committed to the void."