Warzone: Borhelia - a mini-campaign on the planet Boreliah in the Esenie system!
Anthram sat in his chair and looking at his tarot cards. He looked at them, but didn’t really see them. Indeed, a very strange feeling… He sighed and wondered why he felt so weary and distant; he was an Inquisitor, for Emperor’s sake! He should never feel weary, never fail in his awareness, never lose touch with the reality. Because… the reality was dark, sinister… dangerous! He glanced at the cogitator, which tap-tap-tapped it’s data. It was a sound that made him tired, but the calculations never ended, it was a constant and on-going machine that looked for and plotted movements by suspicious heretics and xenos. Anthram had no idea how it worked, it just did and tap-tap-tapped it’s numbers and reports. The most important and nearby ones were printed out for him automatically. No wonder he was tired by that infernal tapping machine, the sound made him sleepy. He shook his head and looked down at the tarot cards again. There was something he couldn’t figure out… He turned another… the liquid crystals in the card floated around for a moment then formed a picture; The Shattered World! He sat back in his chair to think… then he realized that something very odd had happened: the cogitator was silent! He looked at the cogitator and just at that very moment his personal vox transmitter beeped. A quick glance on the information ticker told him that Inquisitor Ripley wanted to talk to him. Inquisitor Ripley… now? Coincidences? No, there were no such thing as coincidences… he switched on his vox…
-Anthram Ogden of the Ordo Xenos, humble servant of the Emperor! Inquisitor Ripley! What can I do for you? Anthram had heard about Ripley and her “work” in the Esenie system. Why was she calling him?
-Inquisitor Ogden! May the Emperor protect you… I have a request of utmost importance. As you may know I’m in the middle of the search of the lost library of Gullibus. Well, something has come up which I can’t handle, since I’m needed elsewhere and I request your help. It seems that there is a heresy rising on a small moon in the system. Several sections of Imperial Guard are defecting to... something... perhaps it's to the ruinous powers, but I'm not sure... But... anyway... and it has to be stopped if we are to save the Esenie system. We can’t have rebellious forces nibbling at our backs!
-I hear you, Inquisitor, but what do you want me to do? Surely you can dispatch enough forces to deal with some heretic guardsmen…
Ripley cut Ogden off with a raised voice:
-Inquisitor Ogden! Listen to me! This isn’t just an uprising by some petty guardsmen, there is something more to this picture… firstly, the moon is infested by Tyranids… lots of Tyranids! Secondly… also… I’ve had… dreams…
-Dreams!? What dreams? Do you mean that you have let dreams get into your head. Dreams like in… visions of… Chaos? Are you weak, Ripley? Are you not strong enough to withstand to temptations by the ruinous powers? Maybe I should come and relieve you of every assignment you’ve got? Are you losing your grip, Inquisitor Ripley?
Anthram was suddeny very upset. He had a blind faith in the Emperor and in the Ordo. The Ordo was order in chaos, the only thing that stood up against all that wanted to destroy mankind. If the chosen ones, the Inquisitors, couldn’t fight the dark powers, all would be lost. It made him angry that inquisitor Ripley had faltered against those powers, even if it was in her dreams. Dreams planted seeds, bad seeds. And bad seeds became false truths in the end. That was how the ruinous powers worked.
-Inquisitor Ogden!! I don’t have time for this! There is something strange going on on Hyperia… I’m sure you already know that the Tyranids have used it as a breeding farm and we have barely managed to stop that. There are several guard units there on the moon, but they are fighting a losing battle… up till now! Something has reduced the number of Tyranids and… something has “taken over” several regiments… there are alarming reports of betrayal and…
-It’s a rebellion, Inquisitor Ripley… guardsmen have fallen to the dark powers… surely you can handle…
-Inquisitor Ogden, I'm not sure it’s the ruinous powers… my dreams… there's something else in my dreams... I can't understand what... but it doesn't feel like Chaos...
Anthram suddenly felt intrigued. There was something here that needed to be rooted out. And that something could very well be a renegade Inquisitor, alongside a Chaos rebellion... If mankind was to survive, this was exactly some of those things that needed to be investigated and dealt with. Anthram decided to play along and used his sweet-voice;
-Inquisitor Ripley, I will obey your wish! Forgive me for my… eh… interrogative approach… old habits... you know... Ok, I will go to this moon… Hyperion, is it? In fact… I’m already on my way!
-It's Hyperia, Inquisitor... and... thank you... Be swift, if you please… and… be careful! I'm afraid there is more to this picture than we can see…
Inquisitor Ogden couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw who would accompany him to Hyperia. He had preferred his beloved and righteous Sisters, but they had to be transported from the Anthracts system, which would take seven weeks. There was, according to Ripley, no time to waste and he had requested a small force of Marines to follow him to Hyperia. Having expected Ultramarines or, at least, Black Templars, he was utterly disappointed when grey-clad Space Wolves and their damned “cousins” Black Ravens turned out to be his force. It was no doubt that they were excellent soldiers, far from it, but… they were close to chaotic in their behaviour and the way they made their decisions. And… there were signs of corruption in their ranks as well, as mutated Marines, still in their powerarmour, were among the ranks. It was disgusting, Anthram thought. He understood that it was work to be done here, but the task of changing a complete Chapter of Marines would probably be too a large task for him. He had to settle for this, to work with these “half-chaos” Marines. As he looked upon the loading of the Thunderhawk, one of the Space Wolves waved at him to board the ship and he decided to let sleeping dogs lie for a while… No matter what Anthram thought about these half-chaotic Marines, he realized that they could probably fight well! When he planned the attack with Wolf commanders, he was struck by their tactical cunning. It was his idea to surround the outpost from the north and the northeast roads, but the actual tactical positions were decided by the Wolves and Ravens. And it was a good plan that would execute very well, he thought. The rebels wouldn’t know what hit them until it was too late. Anthram joined a Hunter squad in their Rhino. He knew that they disliked him. Matters have not really been settled between the Wolves and the Ordo and they wouldn’t be settled here either. He disliked them too, they stood for something uncontrollable, something too wild… something unnatural. But he still felt good to have them on his side.
-Get ready to embark, Wolves of Russ! A metallic voice rang out in the inter-vox system. Time to kill! For Russ!
-For the Emperor!!. Anthram shouted out loud. Kill for the Emperor, light of Mankind!! He was annoyed by the Wolves sudden lack of disrespect. How could they salute Russ before the Emperor? They fought like the mad dogs they were, good fighters, no doubt about that, but the disrespect… that was not to go unnoticed, Anthram promised to himself…
-I tell you Captain… it was Jensen who started it. He is the one to blame, Emperor save us, he started it! If he hadn’t been so eager for those petty gems he thought would make him rich…huh? Well, he can’t use no gems now, can he? The gems are still buried at the dig, right? Fool! If we survive this, which seems very unlikely, I will personally dig that arse Jensen up and slap him hard in the face!
-Oh, put a sock in it, Harlan! What’s the point in blaming some dead soldier? Yes, the dig is no more and we lost many good soldiers there, yes… yes, I hear you! But, concentrate on the coming attack instead or you are as foolish as that Jensen you rant on about! Move on, Harlan, you will only… oooh, here they come! Listen up, soldiers of Traumatican 110th! The Imperial Guard stands firm against all enemies. Have faith in the Emperor and keep your fragging aim!! We will prevail!
Captain Roberth was baffled when he saw what was storming forward in front of his troops, but the orders were very clear: hold the advancing enemy at bay! No retreat, no surrender! Roberth sighed, he wasn’t sure that he could hold against these warriors, these superhumans in thick armour, but General Doppelstupa was very convincing at the briefing, almost like a machine, he had ranted on about the new enemy and that the fate of this campaign was in their hands. Almost like a robot, Roberth thought and shuddered. He had never liked the general, but it was the way things were; he was a lowly captain and the general was a general, commanding thousands of soldiers. Who was he to question the high command? But he couldn’t help feeling uneasy… it felt wrong, fighting against these soldiers was not supposed to happen. Weren’t they on the same side, fighting for the Emperor? Then the oncoming marines started shooting and howling and Captain Roberth forgot all hesitation and aimed at the roaring Space Wolves…
***
Anthram Ogden looked at his accompanying squad of marines as they sat in the Rhino speeding towards the outpost. What he saw both disturbed him and made him impressed. The Grey Hunters had the hunt in their eyes and Ogden was moved by their habit of sniffing the air; it was kind of predatory and cute at the same time. These marines… they were designed to kill and he almost felt sorry for the guardsmen at the outpost. They would pay dearly for their betrayal. But, Ogden also had a mission, and he felt the need to calm these savages down. He grabbed the inter-vox:
-This is Inquisitor Ogden of the Ordo Xenos! Listen! Our orders are to capture the leader for the rebellion. Is that understood? General Doppelstupa is to be captured and interrogated… do you copy? I don’t care about the rebels, they are of no interest and may be… killed… but Doppelstupa must live! Squad leaders… acknowledge!
He waited for the affirmations and then switched off the vox. The pulse was rising and he felt the tension get its hold on him.
***
-Prepare to dismount! Attack enemy at will! Ogdens voice rang over the inter-vox as the Rhinos slowed down a bit and then the hatches opened and the attack was set in motion. Ogden and his Grey Hunter squad was immediately shot at, but the lasgun fire was off target… for now. To his left, Ogden saw the rest of the Grey Hunters disembark from their Rhino. And beyond those, a Land Raider disgorged a hot-blooded pack of Blood Claws. Ogden realized, when he saw the eyes of the Blood Claws, that this would not go well for the rebels. He shook his head, smiled and the slight feeling of desorientation after disembarking from an enclosed vehicle soon disappeared and Ogden and the Space Wolves went to their grisly work… It was like a grey tide swept through the ranks of rebel guardsmen. A few marines fell, but the guardsmen died in droves or fled like cowards. Ogden was impressed by the merciless killing by the Space Wolves and was just about to direct them to Doppelstupa’s HQ, which was poorly hidden in the central building, when the ground suddenly shook. It felt unnatural and strange and Ogden hollered in his vox to the Black Raven force that attacked the guard from the north:
-Commander Sulla! What’s happening? Report immediately!
-Inquisitor! There is… something…
The static was going on for several seconds and sometimes screams were heard… Ogden had a bad feeling about this. Then he saw the black pyramids rise from the ground and metallic soldiers suddenly appear among the Black Ravens. The Raven force had been mauling the rebel guardsmen from their side of the outpost and were also about to reach the crumbling center of Doppelstupa’s last defense, when all hell broke lose! And Ogden realized that things were to become even more complicated in the Esenie system! Ripley had her hands full of Chaos scum and now the most ancient of enemies had come to join the party. The Necrons were merciless and beyond reason. Things had indeed become more complicated… Ogden was, for a few seconds, hesitant what to do, but then realized that Doppelstupa was being “fetched” by his new masters. It was not the ruinous powers he worshipped, it was the Necrons! He had become their puppet… Ogden had studied the Necrons and knew that they used some mechanical probes called “mind-shackles”. These mind-shackles were subtle brainwashing devices that let the Necrons control other species thoughts and actions. This was terrible news. The Necrons could easily overrun everything in the Esenie system…
A squad of Assault Ravens had mere seconds before the Necrons arrived and landed in the middle of the rebel guard and was about to charge Dopplestupa’s HQ. They took aim with their pistols as they started their charge. A thick green lighting lashed out from one of the newly arrived pyramids and incinerated the Assault Marines in a fraction of a second. But things were not all bad, as the Black Ravens bit back and annihilated several of the metal warriors, that were now emerging from the strange pyramid. But the attack from the Black Ravens had become diverted from the outpost and Doppelstupa had found an opportunity to sneak through the trap into the “safety” of the Necrons. Ogden realized that he wouldn’t reach Doppelstupa in time and further losses of marines would be meaningless. They had to retreat… and they had to do it now in order to come back another day and stop the Necrons from overrunining and moving on to their next target,. He just prayed and hoped that there were no more hidden Necrons in the Esenie system… but it was just that: a hope!
The Necron Lord stood at the bridge of the Monolith and watched the humans in their grey and blue armour retreat. He was pleased by the execution of the first part of his plan to bring the Esenie system under his control. This was just the beginning. He had waited so many centuries, but finally the foolish humans had managed to set things in motion by stumbling onto his meticulously planned and built tomb. He had foreseen this and everything went according to his plan. Nothing would hold against his army now, not the humans, not the vile insects, not the imbecilic Orks… nothing. And when the humans and their adversaries found out all his preparations they would tremble and then die! P’tzork was pleased. Now, he would talk to the human general and learn from him. Humans needed to be studied as they were unpredictable and resourceful. He would need every piece of information and this human garbage could very well give him some vital pieces in the puzzle... He sent out a triumphant message to his minions:
(!) TARGET RETRIEVED … EXECUTION OF PLAN AWAKENING COMPLETED... NOW, BRING THE HUMAN TO ME (!)
P’tzork turned to the door, flexed his metallic claws, and waited for Doppelstupa to enter the room…
____________________________________
Written by Tony Melander (2012)