Summer Campaign Teaser!
May 19, 2010 18:59:43 GMT -5
Post by Lord Victor on May 19, 2010 18:59:43 GMT -5
‘It would seem that his old friend Orion could still find the most inhospitable locations in the galaxy.’
Inquisitor Lord Festius stood at the edge of a great glacial rift. With him was his personal bodyguard Cain, and his interrogator-apprentice Millian. Normally such a notable lord would be accompanied by a much larger retinue, but the summons from his old pupil had been very exact: bring no one but your closest and most trusted acolytes. The three of them had descended to this worthless husk of a planet aboard a small gun-cutter, the whole time Millian had been dutifully scanning the planet and surrounding space to find some sign of Orion’s transport. However the planet seemed devoid of energy signals, and their rogue trader transport was certainly the only warp capable craft to be found in the solar system. So they simply landed, and now had to wait for Orion to make his appearance.
It had been ages since his last contact with Orion. His apt pupil had quickly climbed in rank and prestige amongst the ranks of the Ordo Malleus. His work had taken him far from the civilized corners of the galaxy, deep into the Ultima Segmentum. He had always been a ferocious hunter of Demons, though his single-mindedness could lead him at times to stray from the puritan way. Still there were few nobler warriors of mankind that Festius could think of than his old loudmouth apprentice. He knew that for Orion to drag him this far into the rim for a secret meeting, whatever news he had to share would be well worth hearing. However his old student’s sense of timing could not be any worse this time. To be called away right as his crusade was about to get underway stung Festius to the core, but even that would not prevent him from honoring this summons.
Two standard months ago Festius had been on Macragge. There he had stood next to the glorious leader of the Ultramarines, Marneus Calgar, and declared his intent to lead a crusade against the renegade marines that had long hid safely in the treacherous area of the fringe known as The Abyss. For decades the only safe warp current into the area had been completely ravaged by storms. However just less than a year ago, the storms had started to subside. Festius had immediately begun developing plans to lead an offensive into the area. He had deployed some of his greatest assets to scout into the region and report back. The reports had been truly grim, large numbers of traitor marines had drawn together in a single system known as the Renez system. While their purpose there was unknown, such a high number of traitors confined to a single location was too great of an opportunity to pass up. Festius had gone before none other than the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines to plead for assistance. The great Lord Macragge did not disappoint, he had immediately promised support from both the glorious 2nd and 3rd companies of his revered chapter. Furthermore he had called upon ancient debts with many of his brother chapters, and soon news arrived that Strike Cruisers from the Blood Angels, Space Wolves, and Wolves of Carnage chapters were all in route to Macragge at greatest speed.
With such a force of Astartes to command Festius was nearly ready to begin his crusade. He had been able to use his personal connections to muster crack regiments of imperial guard from the Blazing Suns, as well as Cadia itself. All that had been left was final logistical fulfillment when Orion’s message had arrived. Festius had no choice but to leave the opening battles of his crusade in the hands of his newly arranged leadership council. Fortunately each Company Captain and Regimental Marshall were great warriors and grizzled veterans; they could handle his absence for a few months.
‘Now if only Orion would hurry up and get this meeting over with.’
And hurry up he did.
Festius was shaken from his ruminations when Cain suddenly shouted out. “I’m suddenly getting some pretty weird readings here boss. My gravimetric scale is off the charts, but everything feels normal…”
Cain was cutoff as a bright flash of light filled their view. One moment they had stood alone on an endless sheet of ice; the next they were surrounded. From the harsh glare immerged heavily armored warriors: Arachnid was the only way to describe them. For all their bulk, they seemed to float over the ice as they spread out around Festius and his two loyal retainers. Cain’s hands flew to his matching hell pistols, but stopped just as quickly as Festius shouted to him to halt. If these fey hunters had come to take their lives, then they were already dead.
For almost a minute no one moved or made a sound, and then with another flash two more beings appeared in their midst. One was tall and sleek, his armor highly adorned. He carried arcane weaponry the likes of which Festius had never seen. However the other figure was almost immediately recognizable. Inquisitor Orion stepped forward to greet Festius with his ever present half cocked grin plastered across his face.
“What the hell are you doing all the way out here in this dump old man,” quipped Orion “Surely there is some old-folks home you’re missing dinner at?”
“If my old age allows me some recollection, it was you who called me out to this dump you suckling,” smiled Festius. He reached out and clasped Orion’s outstretched arm. “You certainly have some interesting travel companions with you; I am not so sure your friend Inquisitor Talth would approve.”
“Well that’s the problem with those schoolboys over in the Ordo Xenos.” Orion’s smile broadened further. He looked relieved by Festius’ friendly jab. “They always worry about little thing like fraternization with aliens while ignoring the big picture of crushing the demon. But then where are my manners, I need to introduce you to my esteemed companion. This is Autarch Keyrandior; he has something very important to tell you.”
The alien warrior slid forward to an almost uncomfortable distance. “I will never understand the way your kind chooses to greet each other.” The warrior’s voice was light and airy, yet Festius could feel the iron will staring out from behind his helm. “I will be straight to the point as to not tax your Mon-keigh brain. You must call off that foolish crusade you are planning into the fringe.”
Festius had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing aloud, “And why should I care about your opinion on the matter, Xenos?” It was absurd to think his old pupil Orion would defer to the directives of some unknown alien.
“I know that look master,” Orion jumped in, his smile gone, “You need to listen to what Keyrandior has to say. Trust me, I would not have brought you all the way here without just cause.”
“Your friend is wise, he alone has given me a glimmer of hope that your species is not completely worthless.” The Autarch spoke again, “As for your crusade, surely a hunter as cagey as an inquisitor can smell a trap when one is so clearly evident! My sisters and brothers have looked into the twisted skein and know your future. The forces of the primordial annihilator desire you to assault them. They await with delight the slaughter that your crusade will cause. The death you will bring upon the sector will unleash an evil greater than you have ever seen!”
Festius felt like the ice that surrounded him. The thought that his glorious effort in the name of the Emperor could possibly lead to damnation was impossible. His poor foolish apprentice; he had tread the path of the Radical, had taken counsel with the Xenos filth.
“I’ve heard enough Xenos. My crusade is blessed by the holy Lord of Terra themselves. I will lead my crusade into The Abyss, and I will destroy all evil I find. Even this evil that you speak of: None can stay my Wrath!”
With those final words, Festius turned his back on his old friend. He slowly walked back towards the gun-cutter, waiting for the painful sting of death he was sure would come from the alien and his warriors. Yet strangely his death never came, not yet at least. Orion and his alien companions waited and watched as Festius and his acolytes boarded their ship and lifted off.
***
No one spoke until the ship was just a glimmer in the evening sky. “Your lord was more stubborn than you said he would be,” Keyrandior turned to face Orion. “We will have to move forward with our original plan; I knew this trip was a waste of time.”
“We had to try,” replied Orion. “For the sake of the galaxy we had to try…”
Inquisitor Lord Festius stood at the edge of a great glacial rift. With him was his personal bodyguard Cain, and his interrogator-apprentice Millian. Normally such a notable lord would be accompanied by a much larger retinue, but the summons from his old pupil had been very exact: bring no one but your closest and most trusted acolytes. The three of them had descended to this worthless husk of a planet aboard a small gun-cutter, the whole time Millian had been dutifully scanning the planet and surrounding space to find some sign of Orion’s transport. However the planet seemed devoid of energy signals, and their rogue trader transport was certainly the only warp capable craft to be found in the solar system. So they simply landed, and now had to wait for Orion to make his appearance.
It had been ages since his last contact with Orion. His apt pupil had quickly climbed in rank and prestige amongst the ranks of the Ordo Malleus. His work had taken him far from the civilized corners of the galaxy, deep into the Ultima Segmentum. He had always been a ferocious hunter of Demons, though his single-mindedness could lead him at times to stray from the puritan way. Still there were few nobler warriors of mankind that Festius could think of than his old loudmouth apprentice. He knew that for Orion to drag him this far into the rim for a secret meeting, whatever news he had to share would be well worth hearing. However his old student’s sense of timing could not be any worse this time. To be called away right as his crusade was about to get underway stung Festius to the core, but even that would not prevent him from honoring this summons.
Two standard months ago Festius had been on Macragge. There he had stood next to the glorious leader of the Ultramarines, Marneus Calgar, and declared his intent to lead a crusade against the renegade marines that had long hid safely in the treacherous area of the fringe known as The Abyss. For decades the only safe warp current into the area had been completely ravaged by storms. However just less than a year ago, the storms had started to subside. Festius had immediately begun developing plans to lead an offensive into the area. He had deployed some of his greatest assets to scout into the region and report back. The reports had been truly grim, large numbers of traitor marines had drawn together in a single system known as the Renez system. While their purpose there was unknown, such a high number of traitors confined to a single location was too great of an opportunity to pass up. Festius had gone before none other than the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines to plead for assistance. The great Lord Macragge did not disappoint, he had immediately promised support from both the glorious 2nd and 3rd companies of his revered chapter. Furthermore he had called upon ancient debts with many of his brother chapters, and soon news arrived that Strike Cruisers from the Blood Angels, Space Wolves, and Wolves of Carnage chapters were all in route to Macragge at greatest speed.
With such a force of Astartes to command Festius was nearly ready to begin his crusade. He had been able to use his personal connections to muster crack regiments of imperial guard from the Blazing Suns, as well as Cadia itself. All that had been left was final logistical fulfillment when Orion’s message had arrived. Festius had no choice but to leave the opening battles of his crusade in the hands of his newly arranged leadership council. Fortunately each Company Captain and Regimental Marshall were great warriors and grizzled veterans; they could handle his absence for a few months.
‘Now if only Orion would hurry up and get this meeting over with.’
And hurry up he did.
Festius was shaken from his ruminations when Cain suddenly shouted out. “I’m suddenly getting some pretty weird readings here boss. My gravimetric scale is off the charts, but everything feels normal…”
Cain was cutoff as a bright flash of light filled their view. One moment they had stood alone on an endless sheet of ice; the next they were surrounded. From the harsh glare immerged heavily armored warriors: Arachnid was the only way to describe them. For all their bulk, they seemed to float over the ice as they spread out around Festius and his two loyal retainers. Cain’s hands flew to his matching hell pistols, but stopped just as quickly as Festius shouted to him to halt. If these fey hunters had come to take their lives, then they were already dead.
For almost a minute no one moved or made a sound, and then with another flash two more beings appeared in their midst. One was tall and sleek, his armor highly adorned. He carried arcane weaponry the likes of which Festius had never seen. However the other figure was almost immediately recognizable. Inquisitor Orion stepped forward to greet Festius with his ever present half cocked grin plastered across his face.
“What the hell are you doing all the way out here in this dump old man,” quipped Orion “Surely there is some old-folks home you’re missing dinner at?”
“If my old age allows me some recollection, it was you who called me out to this dump you suckling,” smiled Festius. He reached out and clasped Orion’s outstretched arm. “You certainly have some interesting travel companions with you; I am not so sure your friend Inquisitor Talth would approve.”
“Well that’s the problem with those schoolboys over in the Ordo Xenos.” Orion’s smile broadened further. He looked relieved by Festius’ friendly jab. “They always worry about little thing like fraternization with aliens while ignoring the big picture of crushing the demon. But then where are my manners, I need to introduce you to my esteemed companion. This is Autarch Keyrandior; he has something very important to tell you.”
The alien warrior slid forward to an almost uncomfortable distance. “I will never understand the way your kind chooses to greet each other.” The warrior’s voice was light and airy, yet Festius could feel the iron will staring out from behind his helm. “I will be straight to the point as to not tax your Mon-keigh brain. You must call off that foolish crusade you are planning into the fringe.”
Festius had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing aloud, “And why should I care about your opinion on the matter, Xenos?” It was absurd to think his old pupil Orion would defer to the directives of some unknown alien.
“I know that look master,” Orion jumped in, his smile gone, “You need to listen to what Keyrandior has to say. Trust me, I would not have brought you all the way here without just cause.”
“Your friend is wise, he alone has given me a glimmer of hope that your species is not completely worthless.” The Autarch spoke again, “As for your crusade, surely a hunter as cagey as an inquisitor can smell a trap when one is so clearly evident! My sisters and brothers have looked into the twisted skein and know your future. The forces of the primordial annihilator desire you to assault them. They await with delight the slaughter that your crusade will cause. The death you will bring upon the sector will unleash an evil greater than you have ever seen!”
Festius felt like the ice that surrounded him. The thought that his glorious effort in the name of the Emperor could possibly lead to damnation was impossible. His poor foolish apprentice; he had tread the path of the Radical, had taken counsel with the Xenos filth.
“I’ve heard enough Xenos. My crusade is blessed by the holy Lord of Terra themselves. I will lead my crusade into The Abyss, and I will destroy all evil I find. Even this evil that you speak of: None can stay my Wrath!”
With those final words, Festius turned his back on his old friend. He slowly walked back towards the gun-cutter, waiting for the painful sting of death he was sure would come from the alien and his warriors. Yet strangely his death never came, not yet at least. Orion and his alien companions waited and watched as Festius and his acolytes boarded their ship and lifted off.
***
No one spoke until the ship was just a glimmer in the evening sky. “Your lord was more stubborn than you said he would be,” Keyrandior turned to face Orion. “We will have to move forward with our original plan; I knew this trip was a waste of time.”
“We had to try,” replied Orion. “For the sake of the galaxy we had to try…”