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Description

Hive Volcanus, Armageddon Prime, 998.M41.
For the last hour, Sergeant V’reth of the Salamanders and his brothers had fought the most recent Ork assaults in the levels just underneath the Hive’s gate. Supported by many Guard regiments and the Hive Militia, every assault was repulsed. But not this one. Ork Kommandos had opened several breaches in the walls of the Hive letting tens of thousands of Orks pouring in.
-Fall back brothers! We can no longer hold this position! Cried V’reth on the vox.
-Brother Shen’Gosi, make sure the Guardsmen are evacuated and meet us at these coordinates. Go now!
The Salamander acquiesced and sprinted towards the nearest Guard position.
Advanced post DL-421 Gamma
Sweat was pouring freely on Sergeant Greely’s face when he received the order to withdraw.
- But the Auxilia does not retreat, he thought to himself. However, in this situation it might not be such a bad idea. Corporal Muldoon, gather the men and fall back to the designated coordinates!
It took barely a minute before the Auxilia positions were disengaging the Orks in a well-coordinated manner. Booby traps were laid at key junctions where the Orks were certain to take. Walkways were weakened so that they would fail and send the Orks plunging to the depths below, doors were primed with Krak and shrapnel charges to detonate the moment they were opened. Greely was feeling spirited the more he got away from the Orks.
Something crashed through the ceiling, breaking his reverie and filling the surroundings with dust and smoke.
Greely looked around; trying to determine what had fallen through the ceiling. Sighting down his las-rifle a large shape appeared in the gloom. As the dust disappeared, it was clear that the shape was that of a Space Marine, the Emperor’s Angels of Death. As he approached it, he realized that its armor was yellow.
-Emperor be praised, the Imperial Fists are here!
As he stopped near the marine, he threw a sharp salute.
-My lord, we are glad to see you. What would you have us do nghhghg!
Suddenly, the Marine grabbed Greely by the throat, squeezing hard enough to cause extreme discomfort to him.
-You have dared to leave your positions in the face of Xenos! You have betrayed the Emperor with your cowardice! The Marine snarled, throwing Greely to the floor.
Now he saw it clearly. The Marine was not an Imperial Fist.
- Ma…ma… Malevolent! He cried. We were ordered to fall back by the Sal… Greely’s last words were a slur as his head fell from his shoulders.
The Malevolent gestured to his emerging battle-brothers.
-This is Captain Vinyar, Kill them all! They are not worthy of life!
1,5 miles from DL-421 Gamma
V’reth wrenched his Thunder hammer free of an Ork champion’s smoking skull when his helmet communicator crackled to life.
-Brother-sergeant, we have a situation here!
-What is it, brother Shen’Gosi? Responded V’reth as he shot a charging Ork in the face with his bolt pistol.
-We have received Marine reinforcements…
-And… snarled V’reth as he parried a huge cleaver.
-They are killing any Guardsmen who were falling back, as per your orders.
-Who are they? V’reth asked his voice dry.
-Marines Malevolent, sergeant.
-Squad Prometheus with me! Squads Nocturne and Deathfire remain here to keep the Greenskins at bay.
After receiving those squads’ affirmations, V’reth and his squad sprinted towards the last known Guard position. As he ran, V’reth could see his brothers fighting side by side with the unaugmented humans. This brought pride to his heart.
- Why can’t the Malevolents understand that concept? It is all so clear.
It only took a few minutes for him to reach the location of the last Guard transmission. He skidded to a halt, staring at a dread figure in yellow armor. The figure held a headless corpse, which he discarded as though it was nothing more than a dirty carpet.
-Greetings brother. The figure said. Will you join us in teaching these ‘men’ a lesson in loyalty?
V’reth only stared at him, his choler rising.
-How dare you?! I gave these men orders to fall back to better positions!
The Marines Malevolent took his helmet off, revealing a face scarred by decades of brutal warfare. His thin smile held no kindness of any sort.
-Retreat is cowardice. These Guardsmen renounced their title of ‘men’ the moment they took a step back. Anyone who retreats in the face of Humanity’s enemies is a traitor deserving only of death.
His patience spent, V’reth stomped towards the marine, intent on violence. When he was arms-length from the super-man, the Gate’s foundations shuddered. The ground started to fracture. Soon, the entire room started to break, oblivion expanding under their feet. V’reth, his squad and the Marines Malevolent were engulfed by the darkness before anyone could send a distress signal.
V’reth shoved aside pieces of masonry as he looked around. Darkness was everywhere though he could sense both his squad and the Marines Malevolent that had fallen with him.
-Squad Deathfire, do you read me? Squad Nocturne? No response!
As he took in his surroundings, V’reth spotted a blotch of light in the distance.
-There is where we must go. V’reth told his squad. For the other Astartes, he merely gestured to follow.
Reaching the source of the light however took longer than V’reth had expected. The two squads entered through what seemed to be an old gate. A very old gate. He could see the outlines of sculptures that had been rendered formless by the passage of time. A faint sound emanated from the other side. It soon turned into a chant the moment the Astartes crossed the threshold. The space reminded V’reth of the great cathedrals so prized by the followers of the Imperial Creed. Surprisingly, the space was far from empty. Several hundred civilians, in various stage of sickness, were on their knees, droning prayers V’reth had difficulty understanding. It was only when he and his disparate squad reached the altar that it all seemed clear. This was no Ecclesiarchy sanctioned shrine to the Emperor but something else entirely: V’reth could see a long pulpit, not unlike those usually found in Imperial sanctuaries. Instead of the face of the Emperor or one of His saints, there was a leering demonic face, which seemed to both mock and pity those who looked upon it. Just above the face, were three skulls, each one circled by a ring of rusted iron. Small green tentacles gently swayed in the underground breeze. One of the skulls suppurated a viscous bile that slowly ate through the pulpit. Turning around, he could see the state of the worshippers. Most of them were in various states of decomposition although none of them were dead. Boils, lesions and necrotic cysts were on almost all of them. All the while, rats, worms and other vermin slithered on their pale flesh or between their legs. V’reth was just about to order his squad to open fire on these heretical degenerates when a loud though almost friendly voice boomed from behind the altar.

-Esteemed guests, greetings! We were just about ready to start the ceremony. You are more than welcome to participate.
V’reth was taken aback. The being wasn’t some degenerate human ministering to his diseased flock. This was a full-fledged Plague Marine. Its bloated body seemed to be barely contained within its rusty armor. However, V’reth knew that was just an illusion.
-Who are you, abomination! Vinyar growled, his fingers grasping his sword in mute fury.
The pestilent being smiled as he picked a sickly rat off the floor and bit its head off. It took a step towards V’reth and the Astartes.
-You’ve all been fighting for so long and with such… tenacity. You should be commended nay, worshipped for your deeds. Even your ‘Emperor’ should bow down to you. Come, rest, embrace the atrophy that is your reward.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Vinyar suddenly threw himself at the figure.
-You will not corrupt us, monster! We have but one master, The Emperor, and He will cast down your false god!
Before Vinyar could come close enough to strike the creature with his sword, the Plague Marine simply moved his hand and snapped his fingers. The Malevolent was thrown back into a wall, cracking it.
He sighed, heavily.
-I don’t like Malevolents. They are all so angry all the time. Not like you, Salamander. You fight for righteousness, for the people.
The figure stepped away from the altar, coming ever closer to V’reth and his brothers. He gestured at the kneeling civilians.
-Where was the Emperor when these poor wretches prayed for liberation, hmm? Where was He when the cursed Greenskins defiled the soil of their world? What did He do, in his eternal wisdom? He sent them?
The figure now pointed a long, curved finger at the unconscious Vinyar and the trio of Malevolents standing around his prone form.
Opening his arms, he took another step.
-Open your eyes, brother. You fight for a lost cause. The Emperor doesn’t care about you. Men like him, he pointed to Vinyar again, don’t care about the common people or even the soldiers tasked to protect them. They speak of glory but it is only a glory steeped in the blood of the innocents and built upon the bones of the righteous and the strong.
V’reth pointed his hammer face down at the marine before he could get too close for comfort.
-Before you continue, traitor, identify yourself! I would hate to have to kill someone who’s nameless.
The thing smiled again. Were V’reth a normal man, he would have retched uncontrollably.
-Now then, where are my manners? Let me introduce myself: I am Ez'sax Festertrius. First cardinal of the Church of the Harmonious Growth. At your service.
-Surely you cannot let this traitor live. We must… started one of the Salamanders, the pilot light on his flamer burning brighter. V’reth stopped him with his raised hand.

-Come now, my brother. We wouldn’t want to be rude to His Holiness now would we? We will let him finish his diatribe and then we will finish this.

Description

Hive Volcanus, Armageddon Prime, 998.M41.
For the last hour, Sergeant V’reth of the Salamanders and his brothers had fought the most recent Ork assaults in the levels just underneath the Hive’s gate. Supported by many Guard regiments and the Hive Militia, every assault was repulsed. But not this one. Ork Kommandos had opened several breaches in the walls of the Hive letting tens of thousands of Orks pouring in.
-Fall back brothers! We can no longer hold this position! Cried V’reth on the vox.
-Brother Shen’Gosi, make sure the Guardsmen are evacuated and meet us at these coordinates. Go now!
The Salamander acquiesced and sprinted towards the nearest Guard position.
Advanced post DL-421 Gamma
Sweat was pouring freely on Sergeant Greely’s face when he received the order to withdraw.
- But the Auxilia does not retreat, he thought to himself. However, in this situation it might not be such a bad idea. Corporal Muldoon, gather the men and fall back to the designated coordinates!
It took barely a minute before the Auxilia positions were disengaging the Orks in a well-coordinated manner. Booby traps were laid at key junctions where the Orks were certain to take. Walkways were weakened so that they would fail and send the Orks plunging to the depths below, doors were primed with Krak and shrapnel charges to detonate the moment they were opened. Greely was feeling spirited the more he got away from the Orks.
Something crashed through the ceiling, breaking his reverie and filling the surroundings with dust and smoke.
Greely looked around; trying to determine what had fallen through the ceiling. Sighting down his las-rifle a large shape appeared in the gloom. As the dust disappeared, it was clear that the shape was that of a Space Marine, the Emperor’s Angels of Death. As he approached it, he realized that its armor was yellow.
-Emperor be praised, the Imperial Fists are here!
As he stopped near the marine, he threw a sharp salute.
-My lord, we are glad to see you. What would you have us do nghhghg!
Suddenly, the Marine grabbed Greely by the throat, squeezing hard enough to cause extreme discomfort to him.
-You have dared to leave your positions in the face of Xenos! You have betrayed the Emperor with your cowardice! The Marine snarled, throwing Greely to the floor.
Now he saw it clearly. The Marine was not an Imperial Fist.
- Ma…ma… Malevolent! He cried. We were ordered to fall back by the Sal… Greely’s last words were a slur as his head fell from his shoulders.
The Malevolent gestured to his emerging battle-brothers.
-This is Captain Vinyar, Kill them all! They are not worthy of life!
1,5 miles from DL-421 Gamma
V’reth wrenched his Thunder hammer free of an Ork champion’s smoking skull when his helmet communicator crackled to life.
-Brother-sergeant, we have a situation here!
-What is it, brother Shen’Gosi? Responded V’reth as he shot a charging Ork in the face with his bolt pistol.
-We have received Marine reinforcements…
-And… snarled V’reth as he parried a huge cleaver.
-They are killing any Guardsmen who were falling back, as per your orders.
-Who are they? V’reth asked his voice dry.
-Marines Malevolent, sergeant.
-Squad Prometheus with me! Squads Nocturne and Deathfire remain here to keep the Greenskins at bay.
After receiving those squads’ affirmations, V’reth and his squad sprinted towards the last known Guard position. As he ran, V’reth could see his brothers fighting side by side with the unaugmented humans. This brought pride to his heart.
- Why can’t the Malevolents understand that concept? It is all so clear.
It only took a few minutes for him to reach the location of the last Guard transmission. He skidded to a halt, staring at a dread figure in yellow armor. The figure held a headless corpse, which he discarded as though it was nothing more than a dirty carpet.
-Greetings brother. The figure said. Will you join us in teaching these ‘men’ a lesson in loyalty?
V’reth only stared at him, his choler rising.
-How dare you?! I gave these men orders to fall back to better positions!
The Marines Malevolent took his helmet off, revealing a face scarred by decades of brutal warfare. His thin smile held no kindness of any sort.
-Retreat is cowardice. These Guardsmen renounced their title of ‘men’ the moment they took a step back. Anyone who retreats in the face of Humanity’s enemies is a traitor deserving only of death.
His patience spent, V’reth stomped towards the marine, intent on violence. When he was arms-length from the super-man, the Gate’s foundations shuddered. The ground started to fracture. Soon, the entire room started to break, oblivion expanding under their feet. V’reth, his squad and the Marines Malevolent were engulfed by the darkness before anyone could send a distress signal.
V’reth shoved aside pieces of masonry as he looked around. Darkness was everywhere though he could sense both his squad and the Marines Malevolent that had fallen with him.
-Squad Deathfire, do you read me? Squad Nocturne? No response!
As he took in his surroundings, V’reth spotted a blotch of light in the distance.
-There is where we must go. V’reth told his squad. For the other Astartes, he merely gestured to follow.
Reaching the source of the light however took longer than V’reth had expected. The two squads entered through what seemed to be an old gate. A very old gate. He could see the outlines of sculptures that had been rendered formless by the passage of time. A faint sound emanated from the other side. It soon turned into a chant the moment the Astartes crossed the threshold. The space reminded V’reth of the great cathedrals so prized by the followers of the Imperial Creed. Surprisingly, the space was far from empty. Several hundred civilians, in various stage of sickness, were on their knees, droning prayers V’reth had difficulty understanding. It was only when he and his disparate squad reached the altar that it all seemed clear. This was no Ecclesiarchy sanctioned shrine to the Emperor but something else entirely: V’reth could see a long pulpit, not unlike those usually found in Imperial sanctuaries. Instead of the face of the Emperor or one of His saints, there was a leering demonic face, which seemed to both mock and pity those who looked upon it. Just above the face, were three skulls, each one circled by a ring of rusted iron. Small green tentacles gently swayed in the underground breeze. One of the skulls suppurated a viscous bile that slowly ate through the pulpit. Turning around, he could see the state of the worshippers. Most of them were in various states of decomposition although none of them were dead. Boils, lesions and necrotic cysts were on almost all of them. All the while, rats, worms and other vermin slithered on their pale flesh or between their legs. V’reth was just about to order his squad to open fire on these heretical degenerates when a loud though almost friendly voice boomed from behind the altar.

-Esteemed guests, greetings! We were just about ready to start the ceremony. You are more than welcome to participate.
V’reth was taken aback. The being wasn’t some degenerate human ministering to his diseased flock. This was a full-fledged Plague Marine. Its bloated body seemed to be barely contained within its rusty armor. However, V’reth knew that was just an illusion.
-Who are you, abomination! Vinyar growled, his fingers grasping his sword in mute fury.
The pestilent being smiled as he picked a sickly rat off the floor and bit its head off. It took a step towards V’reth and the Astartes.
-You’ve all been fighting for so long and with such… tenacity. You should be commended nay, worshipped for your deeds. Even your ‘Emperor’ should bow down to you. Come, rest, embrace the atrophy that is your reward.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Vinyar suddenly threw himself at the figure.
-You will not corrupt us, monster! We have but one master, The Emperor, and He will cast down your false god!
Before Vinyar could come close enough to strike the creature with his sword, the Plague Marine simply moved his hand and snapped his fingers. The Malevolent was thrown back into a wall, cracking it.
He sighed, heavily.
-I don’t like Malevolents. They are all so angry all the time. Not like you, Salamander. You fight for righteousness, for the people.
The figure stepped away from the altar, coming ever closer to V’reth and his brothers. He gestured at the kneeling civilians.
-Where was the Emperor when these poor wretches prayed for liberation, hmm? Where was He when the cursed Greenskins defiled the soil of their world? What did He do, in his eternal wisdom? He sent them?
The figure now pointed a long, curved finger at the unconscious Vinyar and the trio of Malevolents standing around his prone form.
Opening his arms, he took another step.
-Open your eyes, brother. You fight for a lost cause. The Emperor doesn’t care about you. Men like him, he pointed to Vinyar again, don’t care about the common people or even the soldiers tasked to protect them. They speak of glory but it is only a glory steeped in the blood of the innocents and built upon the bones of the righteous and the strong.
V’reth pointed his hammer face down at the marine before he could get too close for comfort.
-Before you continue, traitor, identify yourself! I would hate to have to kill someone who’s nameless.
The thing smiled again. Were V’reth a normal man, he would have retched uncontrollably.
-Now then, where are my manners? Let me introduce myself: I am Ez'sax Festertrius. First cardinal of the Church of the Harmonious Growth. At your service.
-Surely you cannot let this traitor live. We must… started one of the Salamanders, the pilot light on his flamer burning brighter. V’reth stopped him with his raised hand.

-Come now, my brother. We wouldn’t want to be rude to His Holiness now would we? We will let him finish his diatribe and then we will finish this.