Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 55: Daemonic Ship (1)

The process of boarding this Space Hulk was not complicated. Soshyan brought only six warriors with him, including Armin and Techmarine Liko Rogris.

Generally speaking, executing a boarding action while within the Warp was highly ill-advised, as it entailed leaving the protection of the Geller field, turning the boarding vessel into a prime target for predators of the Immaterium.

However, due to Soshyan's presence, all of this ceased to be a problem.

The moment the Thunderhawk departed the 'Starfire', Soshyan utilized the breathing techniques taught to him by Brother Zayd to capture the flow of the Grey Marrow, slowly compressing the liquid metal back toward his heart.

As grey veins crept across his face, the howling and roaring surrounding the Thunderhawk swiftly receded, leaving only faint, barely perceptible curses.

The other six warriors seated inside the Thunderhawk could not perceive any of this, nor could they see the changes occurring on Soshyan's body. They merely felt that it had suddenly become much quieter.

Along the way, the gunship nimbly evaded various debris. It was only when confronted by this stark disparity in sheer bulk that Soshyan truly realized the Space Hulk was indeed closing in on the 'Starfire' at an incredibly high speed.

Yet, its engines had remained shut down the entire time.

Clearly, another power was at play.

After a ten-minute flight, the Thunderhawk entered the Space Hulk's shattered flight deck and located a relatively intact landing platform."Maintain combat formation."

Soshyan was the first to step out of the boarding ramp. The Holy Flame Sword was already drawn, ready to face the enemy at any moment.

Armin led his squad close behind Soshyan. Because this was a zero-gravity environment, they had engaged the mag-locks on the soles of their boots, which somewhat impeded the speed of their movements.

Once the squad had fanned out, Soshyan glanced at the auspex in his hand. The faint life signal was still present.

His instincts told him that the answer to this mystery lay with this signal that shouldn't exist.

He then led the squad through the mouth of a blown-out passageway and into an unlit corridor.

As they entered the pitch-black tunnel, the stressed metal groaned and creaked in tandem with the Space Marines' footsteps. It might have been due to impacts from surrounding debris, or perhaps because it had once been scoured by Warp storms; regardless, the entire ship groaned as Soshyan and his men advanced.

What struck Soshyan as strange was that this lifeless wreck could still maintain sufficient structural integrity.

The tactical lights from the other warriors' bolters and helmets pierced the darkness, painting the bulkheads in layers of silver.

Despite having drifted in the void for many years, the labyrinthine corridors and grand halls deep within the ship had somehow managed to avoid the severe degradation one would expect. Everything appeared surprisingly intact.

Near a hatchway not far ahead lay tools intended for exterior repairs, alongside numerous High Gothic warning signs. Rows of pressurization suits tailored for mortals hung inside storage lockers.

One of the storage lockers had been left open. As the tactical light on Soshyan's helmet swept past it, the black fabric within caught the light.

Everything seemed perfectly normal, yet... also altogether different.

Thud—!

Suddenly, the sound of something striking a metal deck echoed from the distance, reverberating down the corridor.

Instantly, seven beams of light converged on the far end of the corridor, heavy breathing echoing over the vox-channel.

"Stay on high alert, but do not be overly tense. Avoid misfires."

Soshyan glanced into the boundless darkness, then issued his command.

"Move. We proceed to the upper decks."

As they advanced, the tension in the warriors' gun hands relaxed slightly, their lights sweeping erratically across the surroundings.

Strangely, they encountered absolutely nothing along the way. The only unexpected discovery was a highly ominous symbol Soshyan spotted on the wall of a chapel-like chamber.

A scripture ablaze with flames.

Soshyan hadn't expected this to actually be a warship belonging to the XVII Legion, the Word Bearers!

The Word Bearers, the earliest preachers of the Imperium, were one of the nine Legions that betrayed the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. Descending into Chaos Space Marines, they dedicated their loyalty entirely to their Primarch Lorgar and the Chaos Gods.

Even before their fall to Chaos, the Word Bearers were renowned for their extreme religious zeal. After their corruption, they remained the most fanatical of Chaos Space Marines. Their most infamous tactic involved Dark Apostles (corrupted versions of Space Marine Chaplains) inciting their Chaos Space Marine and heretical allies in the heat of battle.

Without a doubt, a warship belonging to a traitor Legion such as this had to be fraught with peril.

Consequently, he dialed his vigilance up to the absolute maximum.

Finally, in a narrow antechamber near the bridge, they found their first traces of the crew.

A large throng of servitors were fused to the massive blast doors leading to the bridge, entirely blocking access.

"They've been dead for a very long time."

Armin stepped forward to examine the shriveled corpse of one servitor. He found its eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, its body coated in a thin layer of frost.

"They look like they've practically turned to stone."

The Space Marine rummaged through the remains, attempting to determine the cause of death, but found no clues.

The other warriors moved forward to push the blast doors open. Soshyan watched them, observing four Space Marines pitting their superhuman strength and Power Armor against the massive portal.

Strictly speaking, they had found absolutely nothing so far. But he had a bad feeling about this, as if he had been intentionally guided here, as if something were playing a game with him.

His grip tightened around the hilt of the Holy Flame Sword. The long blade immediately glowed red-hot, acting like a blazing torch in the Space Marine's hand.

"I reckon this ship was abandoned a long time ago. The crew was either abducted or killed."

Having found nothing, Armin stood up and said to Soshyan:

"Sir, I've heard stories of ghost ships drifting in the Warp. Perhaps we should check the engine rooms."

"The crew? Aren't they right here?"

Soshyan pointed at the dead servitors.

Armin cast a glance back and shrugged.

"Servitors alone cannot operate a ship."

"Sir."

Logris suddenly interjected, pointing to a console beside the blast doors.

"I just checked it over. It's still functional. I should be able to get the doors open."

"Then begin immediately."

"It might take a little bit of time."

Logris mumbled, motioning for the warriors who were struggling to push the doors to step aside. He then began tapping rapidly on the console.

"Logris, why is it taking so long?"

A few minutes later, Armin's impatient voice rang out.

"Did you not hear what I said earlier...? What do you know of the Machine's ways? There are subtle differences between various code iterations and standard protocols. A machine spirit's command algorithms also degrade over time. It might take... input complete!"

With a heavy clunk, the locks disengaged, and the massive doors trembled as the Space Marines pulled them open.

Armin was the first to raise his bolter. The tactical light tore through the darkness, sweeping over scattered metal plating, overhead conduits, and massive machinery.

The moment the doors opened, even Soshyan held his breath.

But there was nothing inside.