289 replies to this topic

[Grimaldus]

glad to see this and you back brother

[Gerhart]

Well done, glad to have you updating again.

[ogreninja]

nice glad to see this going again cant wait to read more

[J NOSK36]

yay im mentioned again, probs the last time unfortunately, unless the templars are tied into this and i somehow rejoin them...idk probs not

[Domine Nox]

Othrim's gauntleted fingers drummed a steady beat upon the arm of his command throne as his jet black eyes stared out at the endless void laid out before him. He had not anticipated the Dark Angels. The Talon Lord winced at the mere thought of the loathesome loyalists. It was a mistake to have stayed on that world. They had gained new brothers for their troubles, but it had been too costly. Too much had been put at risk. Perhaps this was a sign that Nox's sentimentality was a bigger detriment than he had thought.

Othrim turned his gaze to the mindless servitors going about their duties on the bridge. They were scanning for imperial signatures, looking for easy prey. Othrim was glad that they had not found anything yet.

"A wise hunter sharpens his blade." Othrim muttered in his quiet tone.

The claw was under a strict training regime to improve their coordination as a team. Night Lords they might be, but these scattered brethren had not been part of the legion for a very long time. The next time the Night Lords fought, it would be on their terms.

****************************************************

"Control your rage." Nox ordered, his tone beginning to give way to the weariness of repeating the same statement. In the training cage ahead of the Night Lord were two figures, each as different as could be. Both wore only loose training pants, and heavy combat boots. The first was Hunko, whose features were unmarred and smooth, with his impish smile the marine seemed almost childlike despite his stature. Opposing him was a very different figure. Joker was hunched, his body a maze of crosshatched scar from enemies and himself. The Night Lord had adamantly refused any bionics to help his brutalized body. Revelling in what he referred to as his 'badges of glory.' His face was the most telling, though his phisiology had done much to repair the damage it was still a ruined mess from the plasma blast that had nearly taken his head. Currently Joker was frothing at the mouth and shaking his head like a beast.

"Joker!" Nox snapped and Joker lunged at the cage walls towards Nox. "That is it. We are done here."

Joker began to laugh, a laugh that could only be described as evil. "What is the matter?" The madman prodded. "Too much for you?"

"You should go skulk around in the underbelly of the ship with Priest, rather than play at being a Night Lord." Joker launched himself at the cage wall again. "Too much of a beast to even get out of the cage." Nox spat. During all this Hunko had made his departure from the cage and was gathering his things.

"Any word on our next mission?" Hunko asked as he wiped the sweat from his shoulders.

"No, the Talon Lord is biding his time." Nox replied. Hunko looked as though he was about to say something, then simply nodded and made his way out of the chamber.

***********************************************

Spiny picked through the workshop. He had volunteered to do what he could for technical aid onboard the Silent Shadow, but the workshop was not what he expected. The dead mechanicum adept, whose body was still slumped amid myriad cables, had been working on something beyond Spiny's understanding. It tapped directly into the ship's primary power relays and seemed to be designed to reroute the power into the small box at the center of the room. The box also was beyond Spiny. He tried to devote his time to organizing the area so that he might perform rudimentary repairs and upkeep. As he cleared away a bundle of cabling he noticed a curious device. A familiar device. Spiny activated his vox.

"Talon Lord, we have a problem."

************************************************

Varren strode through the ashes of Quarred IV towards a form covered in thick lairs of the snowy white substance.

"Lift him up." As he ordered it ten guardsmen moved to heft the massive form to a sitting position. As they did Varren produced a small spiderlike crystaline object.

"What is that, Lord?" One man asked. Varren's free hand flicked out at incredible speed, firing a round from his plasma pistol into the man's chest.

"None may question the Inquisition." All others were silent. Varren placed the device upon the stub of a neck that protruded from the armor. It began to blink, then shimmer, suddenly the armored figure began to twitch and shudder before going still. The inquisitor waited a moment before removing the device and looking at it in his palm. Ever so gently he put his thumb to it and closed his eyes. There was a sharp intake of breath and then it was released. Varren opened his eyes with a devious smile as a trickle of blood ran down from his nose.

"Thank you Sergeant Nosk. You have been most helpful to the Inquisition." Varren turned away. "Leave the body. I want an open channel to the nearest Astartes ship immediately."

[Armoured Priest]

Damn it pony.

[Domine Nox]

"Spiny and the Talon Lord are in council." Pork said as he, Siddicus and D'ex made their way down one of the shadow laced corridors of the Silent Shadow.

"Perhaps some action at last." D'ex offered, his voice giving away his anticipation.

"Why would he wish to speak to the outsider?" Siddicus countered. "Should we not be plundering? Bringing fear to the foolish servants of the emperor?"

As they progressed forward a darker shadow came towards them. With their Nostraman eyes they made out Nox approaching with steady foot falls.

"We had a security breach. The Dark Angel found it. You should arm yourselves." Nox said, his tone signifying that there was to be no discussion.

"Are we expecting combat?" D'ex asked.

"We must always be ready." Nox said. With that he made his way past the three Night Lords and went to talk to the others.

"Such a dismal approach." Siddicus commented. "A chance to put the fear of the Night Lords into the lap dogs of the Emperor should be embraced."

"Unless we do not know whom we are about to encounter." Pork said as he watched Nox leave.

"I did not consider that." Siddicus off-handedly considered. "How bad could it be?"

************************************************

'Magos Apulo." A tinny voice registered to the altered Magos in his auditory receptors. "We have picked up transmissions on an Inquisition frequency to an Adeptus Astartes outpost regarding the legion known conventionally as the Night Lords." Gears whirred and clicked as Magos Apulo sat immobile upon his command throne aboard his vessel Master of the Code. His deep red robe covered most of his hunched frame, save for one metal talon that was resting upon the arm of his command throne beating an intermittent beat.

"Monitor their transmissions." Apulo's vox rasped in the language of the machine. He did not lower himself to the mundane language of the flesh. "No need to reveal our interest." The magos did not look to see if there was positive affirmation.

As he sat biding his time, there was a sudden tone of alarm. Apulo scanned the systems he was wired into. The signal had died. The rhythm of the claw tapping shifted to a more hurried beat. If there had been flesh left on his face the magos would have smiled, so they are not entirely stupid.

"Plot a jump to the last known position taking into account speed and trajectory of their vessel." Apulo ordered. With inhuman efficiency the ship readied itself and traversed into the warp.

*******************************************

"Understood Inquisitor." Captain Gerhart said as he ended the transmission. He laid his gauntleted hands on the communication console and took a breath.

"What is it, Captain?" A voice called from the door into the comms room. By the thick Venazian accent Gerhart knew who it was before he turned. Librarian Grimaldus stood, concern written on his heavily tanned features.. His ornate forcestaff held in his hand. Purity seals covered the weapon's haft and the head was fashioned into an image of Dorn holding aloft a great two handed blade, though the blade was no adornment but a potent forceblade.

"I find myself torn, Grimaldus." Gerhart said.

"A matter for the Chaplains?" Grimaldus asked.

"No. A matter for me. I am asked to help those whom I distrust to destroy those whom I hate."

"A simple matter then." Grimaldus said. "We destroy our foe for us."

Gerhart nodded. He slapped a hand to the Librarian's pauldron. "It is good you are here friend. We must gather the troops." He made his way out of the chamber. "We have a score to settle."

[Sammael]

Very nice as always.

[Brother White]

Very good

Sent from the Melta practice chambers of the Righteous Truth 
Very good

Sent from the Melta practice chambers of the Righteous Truth

[Gerhart]

Very nice, your discription of details is awesome.

[Grimaldus]

Awesome work Brother, fianlly read the whole thing, awesome work like always cant wait for the rest

[Siddicus]

Keep it coming Nox, ive missed your short stories.

[Domine Nox]

Alarms blared inside the Silent Shadow, warning claxons ringing their full cacophony of sound.

"You wanted action, now you got your wish." Pork said to Hunko as they ran down one of the halls.

"I wanted on our terms though." Hunko interjected.

"Picky picky." Siddicus remarked with a chuckle. The three of them met up with D'ex and Spuds.

"Any word?" D'ex asked of the other Night Lords. They each shook their heads. The Talon Lord had been very silent since Spiny had gone to speak to him and now there was something was coming. Something large from the proximity alarms, and not a friend by the warning alarms. Without further word the five Night Lords made their way towards the bridge at a quick pace. When the door slid open they saw that others were already on the bridge before them.

The Talon Lord was cast in silhouette by a brilliant red sun visible out of the bridge viewport. He stood motionless staring out at space. To the left was Spiny and Nox, as they watched the Talon Lord. To the right however was a man they did not recognize. He was garbed in the midnight ceramite of a Night Lord, but a staff was held in his gauntleted hand. There was something inherently wrong with the staff as well, it appeared to be here and not here at the same time. There were tendrils of darkness that writhed up and down the length of the staff and danced over the figures hand.

"Talon Lord, I still do not approve this course of action." Nox said.

"Your objections have been noted, Nox." Othrim replied without moving. "I am not pleased with the direction things have taken us either. However I do not share your attitude that we should fight a brave last stand." Othrim turned then. "You are sure that this will work, Ragtag?" He asked the newcomer, a slight tone of derision was evident in the Talon Lord's voice.

"I am, Talon Lord." Ragtag replied, shifting his grip on the eldritch staff. Othrim nodded slowly.

"Very well. Begin."

******************************************

Amidst the stars Master of the Code banked around Silent Shadow, running weapons diagnostics and firing solutions. The Adeptus Mechanicus battleship dwarfed the strike cruiser. Magos Apulo watched the proceedings with an analytic expression. They did not run, he wondered at that. Apulo had expected to find a warp trail to follow, but instead they were here easily disposed of.

"Run a full range of scans on the ship and nearby system." Apulo ordered in the horrid screech of machine speak. "And ready port weapons to reduce the fools to atoms."

There was only a momentary delay before readouts sprang into view. Details on atmospheric readings of the planets, geologic movements, astral phenomenon and more scrolled by Apulo's view. He tapped his metal claw on his command throne arm. The readouts were normal, nothing spectacular.

"Open fire." He ordered.

********************************************

"You are here as a guest Inquisitor." Gerhart said through steeled jaw as Varren attempted to command the Righteous Truth to make greater haste. "Orders come from myself, you are welcome to advise or make suggestions. Nothing more."

Varren's expression soured, if that was possible. Since arriving onboard the Righteous Truth he had been growing ever more sour and grim faced at the lack of supplication the Crimson Fists offered.

"Very well." Varren replied curtly. "You will inform me when we have arrived." It was not a question. As he walked away Gerhart scowled before continuing on his way down the steel passage.

"Troubled, Captain?" A famliar voice asked.

"I am." Gerhart muttered. "The Inquisition haunts me at every turn. Their grasp seeming more insidious than the warp itself."

"Those are dangerous words, Captain." Reclusiarch Sammael replied.

"Indeed. Forgive my tone. My faith in you, and the Emperor is strong, Brother Reclusiarch. Only in the lesser agents do I hold any doubt." Gerhart responded tiredly. Before either could say more a siren blared through the decks.

"What is the meaning of this?" Gerhart voxed to the bridge. They were translating through the warp, what could trigger an alarm.

"Captain Gerhart." Grimaldus voxed. "A massive warp storm is coalescing in our path. We cannot get around it."

"All hands secure your positions." Gerhart ordered quickening his pace with Sammael at his heel. "Divert spare power to the Geller fields. I want two man teams checking every deck for any signs of warp disturbance." He turned to the Reclusiarch as they ran. "You should lead the brothers in prayer Reclusiarch, their spirits must be steeled for what might come."

[Armoured Priest]

Oooo, things are getting interesting.

[Sammael]

Yet again, very good. The Hunters is always a good read.

[Grimaldus]

now sammael is with us, awesome!

i want to see where this goes

[J NOSK36]

very good read

[Domine Nox]

"Sit rep!" Gerhart ordered as the Righteous Truth buffeted under the churning and relentless warp winds.

"Geller field is still holding, but the power drain is threatening to overload the core reactor." One of the crew members reported from his console on the bridge, the fear was evident in his voice. "My Lord" He added. "Reports indicate that there is a chance our fields flickered down for half a microsecond."

Gerhart's expression grew sour. "Seal off non-vital areas of the ship and turn off life support and power to those sections. Reroute available power to the Geller Field." He commanded. "This is Captain Gerhart to all teams, check in with status." As the teams checked in he sent them the information on which sections of the ship were about to be sealed off. "Be alert, and be safe brothers." Again the ship rocked under the aether assault.

"Navigator!" Gerhart then barked into the vox. "Get us out of this!" He roared.

***********************************************

Apulo watched as the macro-cannons opened fire on the seemingly helpless strike cruiser. He ran the numbers and found them satisfactory, the battle should be over in a mere 7.345 seconds. The first shot slammed into the strike cruisers shields with a luminescent bloom. Apulo did not appreciate the beauty of it, but was aware that thirty-nine different colors were present in the fraction of a second. Apulo then noted something very wrong. The rest of the volley was drifting off course. What had been a perfectly plotted firing solution was now deviating at an exponential rate. He ran diagnostics on the weapons to find nothing amiss, then the sensors gave him an answer.

"Full reverse." He commanded emotionlessly in machine cant. The scene outside Master of the Code would have had any other crew at battlestations. A huge warp rift was opening around the strike cruiser, designation Silent Shadow. From out of the rift vessels were coalescing, not wholly corporeal and with dimensions that were an affront to the Omnissiah.

"Complication." Apulo said simply.

********************************************

"This is an abomination!" Nox shouted.

"Your opinion is noted." Othrim said, irritated with his subordinates outburst. "You have done well Ragtag. Perhaps I have underestimated the usefulness of the dark powers." Nox stormed off of the bridge past the other assembled figures. Pork, Hunko, Siddicus, D'ex and Spuds hesitated for a moment before deciding to stay.

Nox stormed down the halls of the Silent Shadow. They were saved, but at what cost? At what price? Dabbling in the dark powers that their father had always held in contempt.

"No power comess without a price." A serpentine voice called from the shadows. Nox came up short and turned to see a figure emerge from the darkness.

"Priest?" Nox was unsure as the Word Bearer had continued to devolve since claiming that black blade. Short twisted horns sprouted from his skull, his eyes were roiling maelstroms of purple and orange. Sharp fangs dripped black liquid that singed when it touched his elongated tongue or what little remained of his armor.

"The dark ones reward, they do not grant." Priest said, his eyes looking all around the room as he played with the sword in his hands. Nox turned and slowly left the rambling daemon touched Word Bearer.

"Price? What was the price?" He quickened his pace and made for the dark places of the ship where the serfs stayed.

When he neared the serf quarters he found runes etched in blood upon the walls and floor. He paused and listened. Silence, absolute silence awaited him. No breathing, no movement, not even the sound of the ships systems.

"By Nostramo!" Nox gasped as he stepped farther into the serf quarters. Blood was slathered on the walls, floor and ceiling like some great abattoir.

"Nostramo is gone." A voice growled from farther into the great chamber. "Only shadows, and dust remain of Nostramo." Nox drew his bolt pistol and aimed it into the darkness.

"Show yourself." Nox ordered.

"Am I so different now?" From the darkness a figure emerged. Blood drenched the battleplate and dripped from finger tips to the deck. Joker smiled at Nox through gore stained features. "The voices are quieter now." Nox roared and fired on Joker. The rounds slamming into the blood caked ceramite. Joker laughed in response as he charged at the still firing Night Lord.

"I will rid the world of you, you degenerate monster." Nox spat as Joker charged into him and they slammed into the wall.

"The rage is intoxicating is it not?" Joker laughed as he hefted Nox and tossed him aside. Looking around Joker found a chainsword that was cast aside on the ground and picked it up, revving the motor and hearing the blade whir. "It seems you do not have your blade with you, brother." The last word was said with great derision. Before Joker could charge the ship shuddered violently and he stumbled. Nox took that opening to charge slamming the crazed Night Lord aside and making for the armory.

[Armoured Priest]

Yeay, there's more!

[Grimaldus]

i really like where is this going cant wait for the next part Nox