The Void Scorn(40K)

The ship lurched violently covering the smaller destroyer as it ripped a hole through real space.

“Make sure to cover them fully, divert as much power to the void shields as possible.” Ivex said calmly, his armour straining to stop him from losing his footing. The strike cruiser was a sleek vessel that cut through the cosmic dust of space, firing repeating lances of focused lasers that impacted on The Indomitable’s void shields, causing them to ripple in an oily sheen. Gradually the colours became more and more faint, as the ship’s starboard gun batteries weakly dispensed shells that clattered against the proud standing strike cruiser.

“Lord more vessels are entering the system” a crew member piped. Augr scanners blipped as 2 vessels entered through warp rifts. Another strike cruiser, swiftly followed by an immense battle barge and several escorts, the image of a blinded woman standing prominently at the bow, taunting them.

“Pull a flat turn to the starboard, and ready the warp drives, cut under the strike cruiser and get us out of here” His monotone voice boomed in the quietened bridge.

“But lord the opposing cruiser might be pulled into us mid transla-” a bolt shell exploded against his skull, a corpse hitting the metal decking, spilling blood into the grooves.

“do it”

As half of The Viper’s Bite had vanished into the glee of the warp, The Indomitable thrust forth, it’s void shields finally giving, causing streaks and craters to form in it’s side with the weight of the bombardment. It turned around solid projectiles ricocheting into nothingness as lance shots burned against the solid adamantium of it’s prow. The indomitable began to dive beneath The Emperor’s Scales, belligerently combining pushing fire from the cruiser out of the way, and taking hits to the top of it’s hull, leaving it a mangled and contorted city of metal. Freed from the shackles of it’s void shields the frigate pitched to the port side up and unleashed a wave of fire against the gradually turning strike cruiser, causing it’s void shields to spring to life. A rift was torn into view in front of the indomitable a swirling vortex that encased dust and ship in equally, pulling the smouldering Indomitable forth into it’s depths. The strike cruiser was promptly dragged downwards by it’s stern.

Ivex looked at the now darkened bridge as iridescent pink light threatened to peek through the metal shutters. The hushed a sigh of relief in his helmet, one day.

“we are unable to make contact with The Viper’s Bite my lord” a crewman said.

“then keep trying, keep doing it until you find them, or the astropaths give out” Ivex turned nodding at the hunched figure of Xanac before ambling through the heavy doors of the bridge. The ship is too damaged to go far, multiple failings in the thrusters caused by impact, alongside the damage wrought by the initial assault. We need to somewhere to repair. He stopped, an insipid thought crept it’s way into his brain, he shuddered. Not only was it possible but it was their only option. While The Indomitable was a frigate, built for taking punishment, she had taken too much.

A slow whispering perturbed his ears, small yet just enough to be noticeable to his enhanced ears, it’s small crescendo abruptly ended upon entering the chamber marked ‘Yaczharri’ bearing the warband’s weeping lady. The entire chamber was a small coven of weapons and ornaments. A scarred Aquila plagued the left wall whilst the right was lined with weapon racks, each had it’s own name, written in black ink below, most empty. Ivex had been released of the claustrophobic presence of his helm, allowing the cold and sodden air to caress his nostrils, as the dark blue light barely lit the chamber. The slow whispering betrayed Finnik’s presence huddled over his chainsword, twice the size of his arm.

“Finnik” Ivex spoke the mechanical servos whirring with his slow, heavy footsteps against the ground. He looked up, the four bolts that dotted his head were newly scratched and worn, giving off a glimmering light that had become lost in the dark blue of the chamber.

“Yes sire?” Finnik said through his helmet. Not moving his head, still whispering.

“Has Osatar continued the ritual with Brallax?”

he continued murmuring for several moments, before looking up.

“yes, Brallax was awakened too quickly while in the vault” he hissed, drawing his gauntlet over his chainsword. A long pause gripped the room as even the artificers hard at work stopped their actions as to not provoke the demigods.

“Brother, I wish to help carry your burden. I too was aboard The Emperor’s Scales when you ordered the evacuation, I too helped to drag fellow battle brothers to Seeker. Let me paint myself with the same tears”

“The burden is not yours to bear Finnik.” Ivex replied, Finnik was unsure the look upon his face, pity or sadness. As Ivex stood over him, another figure entered through the scraping door, and both turned to look.

“Yivroxhu” Finnik muttered, the door thudded shut, reminding Ivex of the sound the bolt shell made as he executed the crew member while above the Arthri moon. Yivroxhu marched forth like an arrogant noble giving pity to a wretch at the docks on Shiolda. Ivex took care to hide his grimace amongst his dark features and the lighting.

“Ivex” he hissed through his MKVII helmet’s vox speaker.

“you said we would not run” a low guttural sound that filled the room. Causing the artificers to quickly back further into the corner, and Finnik to rise to his feet, chainsword in hand.

“It was necessary Yivroxhu” Finnik spoke up, defending his brother with an earnest pleading that betrayed the once kind optimism he was belittled for. Ivex splayed one hand outward barring Finnik from incriminating himself any further.

“Yivroxhu, we cannot defeat the V’akai with 2 small ships, it is not feasible”

“It is not about feasibility” Yivroxhu hissed

“It is about what we stand for. When you came aboard my ship, and we ran from those who would have us dead, I wanted to fight, one last time. I am not content to slowly watch my remaining brothers fizzle out in a slow and painful death over decades!”

His anger was palpable, manifesting in a guttural howl that made the mortals within the chamber cling to their ears. Ivex made sure not to show his face, as he bent his arm behind his back.

“I know you are wounded Yivroxhu” he finally said.

“we were all there, which is why we must keep going. We must put right the Great Betrayal or I will never wipe away the tears splayed upon my helmet”

Yivroxhu grunted. In all his years of serving the chapter he had fought with honour, posted to The Indomitable and serving escort duty. Cooped up and aching for violence by the time of the great betrayal. Too much anger. And to much honour.

“We shall be entering real space soon Ivex as ordered” He took a battered battered chainsword off the wall, the name beneath reading Tarsuc, before marching in the direction of the ramshackle training area onboard.

Ivex breathed a sigh of relief, the last thing the warband needed was losing 4 more astartes due to worthless honour and want of a glorified death. They would avenge their battle brothers and be as much a blight to the Imperium as possible with their meagre numbers. Killing as many V’akai in the process as possible.

“He oversteps his station” Finnik uttered, now standing beside Ivex.

“he is angered, like we all are Finnik. He is just it’s most vicious ambassador”

The bridge had darkened even still from its lacklustre blue light. Power had to be diverted, not enough. The Indomitable lurched out of the warp, like a bleeding beast, hobbling it’s way back into real space. The Orthus sector, an area the marines knew well, once under their protection. Captain Xanac toiled away, sleuthing orders to augr crews and those followers of the tech adept. Repairs must be made. The augr scanner officer finally acknowledged the presence of the supply beacon. The Katul, a small space station that acted as a depot for nearby forge and agri worlds of this sector and beyond. Due to it’s size it would need only a small garrison. As for naval defence, all ships must have been pulled during the Cadian defence leaving it as a ripe and rich target.

“Run our old imperial code captain” Captain Xanac nodded, his bionic arm limping slightly as he saluted. The station came into view as the shutters were pulled upwards, a large and bulbous, pronged metal box, that blended into the blackness of space behind it.

“Sire we have a transmission coming through from the base” said the vox officer, her pale skin seeming sickly in the blue of the bridge.

Administratum leader Caeler Sicarun sighed, the cold black of the hallway’s metal stared at her. Bland and boring, she moved clumsily, the large bump in her stomach betraying her condition. He would be born on station just as she was, doomed to endless refuelling and supply admissions from the Mechanicus and navy alike. She almost hobbled into the headquarters overlooking the endless night, her hair a mess, a grimace on her face.

“By the throne make this good” she spat, sleep did not come easily, making being disturbed all the more perturbing. The crew huddled at scanners and glowing stations, gave a quick salute before returning to duty. A small buzz engulfed the room, like that of a joyous yet hushed chorus in an ecclesiastical chapel.

“Ma'am” said a small woman, her blue white uniform was patchy, her face was at least somewhat clean with greasy black hair that pulled back into a bun.

“What is it Sala” she huffed, with a cleft tone of anguish and annoyance.

Sala slightly recoiled, she was never the brightest, only ever good enough to work the vox, the only one trained to.

“A ship has entered the sector ma'am” she had regained her composure now, albeit clumsily, like a child admitting wrong and trying to blab their way out of it.

“Not worth waking me up vox master”

“It is the Arbiters of Truth ma'am” she said in a hushed and quiet tone.

Caela doubled back on herself, shock now spreading on her face, parting the various molecules of dust and detritus around her mouth and eyes. She wiped her face on her sleeve, before ordering for confirmation from the augr scanners.

“The ship reads as The Indomitable ma'am, marked as sword class frigate of the 5^th battle company” a scratchy male voice hummed to her. In her 29 years on the Katul she had never witnessed the chapter set to defend their sector. Not once had they interacted with any vessels bear the iconography of The Arbiters of Truth. It had got to the point many crew though of them as legends or myths. Records show that her great grandfather, and his grandmother before him had encountered the chapter’s vessels during restocks and defence against raiders. Anytime before that is lost in the mountains of paper that make up the stations records, most of which are not stored on the station itself. The frigate had finally come into view. The Indomitable. Caela snarked, an appropriate name. The ship was broken, a mass of metal and contorted spires. She spied the remains of yellow paint and black on it’s sleek hull, the sword like front protruding despite the hundreds of dents and holes. Surely if you zoomed in enough she would see servitors working upon the cracks and holes. Patching a wounded beast. Only several of the few thrusters were firing, she could only imagine the damage that needed to be done in order to cripple such a vessel. Small, but unbroken and unbreaking.

“Keep her steady and dock the ship carefully, we shall board the station with Cnathre.” Ivex spoke steadily, a large dent still persisting tenuously in the side of his beaked helm. Ctackle nodded, his lascannon stowed in the quarters of Tethri, he now slung an ornate bolter to his thigh. All marines aboard the vessel had gathered in the bridge ignoring those mortals scurrying about.

The Indomitable lurched, Yivroxhu could feel it’s machine spirit signing and swaying. He knew it well, it had been different since the betrayal. It once had been a pious and graceful entity, weaving both real space and immaterium with an ephemeral and delicate touch. Guarding the larger cruisers and battle barges of the chapter with a motherly care. But since the betrayal all he could feel was sadness, a long crying and weeping. The ship vibrated as it docked, Cnathre formed a square around Ivex, bolters resting against their chest. Yivroxhu dared to spy a look at Finnik who stood proudly next to Ivex, arrogant and petulant. He could almost imagine the disgusting grin on his face at the mere thought of slaughter.

The bulkheads hissed, several mortal crew with pallid faces and dented, flecked armour crowded around them in a hidden loose formation armed with lasguns and stubbers. The doors opened to reveal the black interior of the station, light coalesced from the tops of the corridors making the mortals squint their abyssal blue eyes. A welcoming party was standing in front, several armed naval members with shotguns and void suits, stood beside and ornately displayed officer. She kneeled, her greasy black bun giving off a sheen in the bright white light above her white uniform. Yivroxhu marched forward, pushing the front mortal crewmembers aside. His vox grill sputtered.

“Take us to the command centre”

The walk was slow and painful, Sala tried not to look up at the behemoths. Even the naval guard with her had bowed their heads in reverence and fear of the Emperor’s angels. They dared not speak, even breathing was a notion that might annoy them. Each metre of ground covered along the vessel was punctuated with 6 heavy sets of boots that thrummed with power. The doors to the command station slid open, she fell to the ground, something wet around her neck. Screams and shouts. Her vision going blurry in the floor of black metal.

Finnik laughed, as he whirled through the command centre, a mix of blood and viscera beginning to coat the black of his armour and the bolts on his shoulder plates. His chainsword bit and crunched through anything and everything beginning with that woman’s head. Screaming erupted and continued. Several blasts and cackling of shells hitting the ground and pellets ricocheting off of his armour. They were next. Void suits or not, to be dismembered and mangled. By the time he had killed all who Ivex had told him too, the black metal ran red. Several female crew members were left cowering in different corners, or on their knees crying. The ramshackle mortal crewmen of The Indomitable surged forth, like flies into a rotten corpse as Ivex gave the command over vox. Cnathre took one woman in hand. A large bump on her abdomen. Finnik licked his scarred lips as she kicked at her captors.

By the time they had made it back to the welcoming blue of The Indomitable’s hallways Finnik’s armour was blotched with lasfire, charred around his ancient MKV chestplate and legs. He stumbled through the hallways, that were marked with scrawling life, crewman and servitors running and walking. Carrying food, ammo, fuel and other manners of machinery and containers. The bridge was lifeless in comparison. All other marines had already gathered the 4 Cnathre, bolter’s strapped to their thighs, chainswords and bolt pistols decking their belts, 4 more of Tethri. Ctackle was resting his arms on the central console. Lax. The other 3 of the squad were similar, the usual heavy weapons presumably mounted upon their awnings. He took his helmet off to match his brothers, and out of respect for Ivex.

Ivex’s face was old, several golden pins marked the left side of his skull, on top on blotched and purpling skin, more pale than the rest who grew up on Shiolda.

“Then speak Ivex what are we to do next after plundering this small fry?” A chuckle came afterwards, Finnik never understood Yivroxhu’s hatred of all. He too had been their at the betrayal and grew upon the same world they did. And yet he was unscrupulously honourable and chivalric, apart from his skin, Finnik could almost imagine him a native of a feudal world.

“I have considered our options brothers” he spoke almost solemn in tone as he usually did. It almost mimicked the ship itself, like a deep mourning, marred with melancholy and guilt.

“We are not able contact The Viper’s Bite alongside the state of our lady, there is only one place we can repair.”

The state of the chamber changed, a weariness and caution enveloped each astartes as they listened, each begging him not to say the words he was about to.

“we shall use our astropaths to try and contact Zhouggath. Then we shall meet them at the refuge of the Talons”