CHAINS OF JUDGEMENT SPOILER WARNING

Hi all,

From some of the same crowd that is bringing you the "For Profit and Plunder - A pc's tale" write up here is our attempt to survive the Chains.

Line up....

GM - Me.

Asrodel the Fated - Not on FFG

Nina Black - Not on FFG

Tech Priest Bore - Lord Spatula

We played the game via maptool and skype.

Chapter 1: Broken Chains (Part 1)

The heavily augmented man-machine woke, and as the stasis chamber opened, he stumbled forwards as though unused to finding his own balance. The feeble, flickering light from the emergency luminen globes suspended high in the chamber offered him a poor view of his surroundings, but the man-machine looked round, flinching slightly as though expecting to be struck by someone. Realising he was on his own he straightened, and then turned, hearing the hissing of other stasis tubes unsealing. Showing some curiosity, but little surprise, he observed his new companions; a human female, missing the implants that were so obvious in the man-machines' own flesh, and a giant, a warrior, obviously once an Astartes, but now something more, or less, depending on the viewpoint of the observer, and now a member of the so-called Traitor Legions. The man-machine shivered slightly as he reflected that his captors had felt him worthy of the same treatment of such an infamous figure.

As the others steadied themselves the man-machine turned his attention to the chamber, it was a dark, dingy place, littered with debris, however, there was a single, closed hatch on the far side of the chamber, and above it written in Low Gothic, "Stasis Crypt XX". Closer by he saw the familiar shape of a cogitator column, and his thirst for knowledge piqued, he walked unsteadily across the room to the device before using one of his probes to connect to a compatible port, and began interrogating the device.

The machine spirits seemed anxious to reveal the secrets they held, and the man-machine quickly found the first entries in the cogitator's memory. The ship was listed as the prisoner transport the Chains of Judgement, and within the records were listed man-machine's name, Hephastius Bore, and several others along with the dates of interment. A notation indicated that those listed were to be taken to Installation Obsidian Magna in the Tricorn Palace on Scintilla for debrief and summary termination. A second notation mentioned that items and equipment in the subject’s possession at time of capture were held in "Investigative Laboratorium V".

Following this administrative notation were three months of regular and identical weekly status updates from the caskets, however, these were suddenly interrupted by a new message;

++ Alarms triggered in main prison hold. General prisoner uprising in effect. Emergency lockdown protocols active. Sealing Sanctum Gate between Prison Hold and Upper Decks. Sealing stasis crypts I-XX on Medicae Deck 3. Sealing Investigative Laboratoriums I-V on Medicae Deck 3. Medicae Decks switching to tertiary reserve plasma power generators. ++"

++ Lockdown protocols in effect, pending uprising resolution. ++

++ Pending...pending...pending... ++

As the man-machine, Bore, scrolled through the updates, he quickly realised from looking at the date stamps that the ++ Pending... ++ status continued for two hundred years. Eventually, he reached the final message in the cogitator's memory;

++ Reserve power generation below 1 percent power. Unable to maintain operations on stasis crypts. Unable to maintain lockdown protocols. Initiating termination protocols on stasis crypt inhabitants. ++

He re-read the previous entry and realised that he and his new comrades should be dead, paused, and continued to scroll down the logs.

++ Stasis crypt XX termination protocols overridden. Stasis crypt I-XIX termination protocols active. ++

++ Stasis crypt operations switching to emergency standby. Stasis caskets deactivating. Lockdown protocols inactive. ++

Someone had deactivated the termination order for Crypt 20, yet left all others active... He turned and reported his findings to his companions who had been busy searching for weapons and a way to open the hatch to give them an exit.

The giant man turned, looking at Bore with some suspicion, before growling in a deep voice; "That is all very interesting Tech-Priest, but who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Ah. Yes, perhaps it would be logical for me to explain my presence! I am Hephastius Bore, I was a Tech-Priest of the Lathes in the Calixis Sector. My research into the warp led me experiment with the flesh of warp creatures, and implant it in myself, and others. The Adeptus Mechanicus..." Bore paused, searching for the right words, before continuing, "...frowned on my work, they branded me as a Heretek and ejected me from the order, handing me over to the Inquisition. I am sure though that once I prove my work, the perfection of my designs will convince them I was right, and they will accept my work as a logical progression of technology..."

The giant figure spoke "Hrmmph. I am Asrodel, otherwise known as "The Fated". Long ago I saw through the lies of the Corpse-Emperor's followers, and found my path, pledging to defeat the puppets of this pathetic and misguided cult..."

Asrodel and Bore looked towards the woman, who met their gaze before speaking; "My name is Nina Black. I was betrayed by my own brother, my own flesh and blood, and I will have my revenge for that."

Bore smiled, recognising their names alongside his own, from the "high-threat" listing in the cogitator, and then he turned to Nina and spoke again; "I have long said that the flesh is weak. Hence my research that, sadly, was so frowned upon...!" He turned his attention back to the cogitator, and as he was about to disconnect, he noticed a final message on the cogitator screen;

++ Remote Access Interface available. Accept? Y/N ++

He answered in the affirmative, and smiled as a hatch opened to release a servo-skull which hovered in front of him, and spoke in a synthesized voice through a speaker grill embedded in the bony mouth; "Remote Access Interface Active. Please state the information you require."

Bore paused, as though waiting for suggestions and Asrodel spoke up; "Just ask it how we get out of this place!"

The Tech-Priest nodded. "Are the systems active on the ship to allow us access through the doors?"

There was a slight pause, and the servo-skull responded in its clinical, mechanical voice; "The ship has suffered heavy damage, and numerous areas are not responding to the core system's requests for status updates. Most access points in this area are functional however."

"Thank-you." Bore nodded. "Why did all the other Stasis Crypts terminate their occupants, yet this Stasis Crypt was left alone?"

Before the servo-skull could respond, Asrodel interrupted; "It is because the gods have blessed us. They recognise our ability and obviously have plans for us!"

Bore seemed to ignore the statement, and continued to wait for a response from the servo-skull, which eventually simply said "Data not found... The termination order was completed in the other Crypts whilst it was not in Crypt 20. Standby. It appears that Interrogator Crane and the Alpha Acolytes stasis caskets were also deactivated."

Immediately the Tech-Priest asked "Who is Interrogator Crane?"

"He is the senior member of the Inquisition aboard this vessel. Their stasis caskets were located within the bridge and in the command superstructure."

Obviously worried by the fact that there were Inquisitorial forces nearby Bore asked "Can you direct us to the location of our weapons and equipment?"

"The equipment you were captured with is in Investigative Laboratorium 5. It is only three hundred metres from our current location. If you require guidance I can take you there."

Bore paused thoughtfully, before asking another question; "Are there life signs of other living creatures aboard this vessel?"

The servo-skull responded "Data not found..."

The Tech-Priest modified his question; "Are there life signs of other living creatures in the immediate vicinity of this location?"

Once again, the servo-skull responded "Data not found..."

"How many Alpha-Acolytes remain onboard this vessel?" Bore attempted to narrow his questioning further.

Yet again the servo-skull responded "Data not found..."

Changing tack, Bore asked "What are the protocols for dealing with a catastrophic event onboard this vessel, perhaps for example, a prisoner uprising?"

"Standard protocols are to summon aid, and at a last resort to self-destruct the vessel."

The Tech-Priest turned to the others; "If we want to survive, we must prevent this Interrogator Crane from enacting these protocols. It would be logical for us to retrieve our equipment, and make an attempt to reach the bridge, to take control!"

His statement was met with nods of agreement from Asrodel and Nina, and the three followed the servo-skull as it led them from the chamber.

They found themselves in a circular corridor, and leading from it were entries to stasis crypts sixteen to nineteen. Asrodel and Nina looked around the wreckage in room for something that could be used as a weapon, and the fallen Astartes found a huge metal bar that he hefted in the manner of a club, however the woman came away empty handed. Bore glanced around, and reached down into nearby debris, finding a rusted knife.

He tossed the weapon to Nina; "It would be more optimal for you to use this, I can defend myself using other means."

She nodded her thanks, testing the balance of the blade.

Asrodel held the entrance to the circular corridor, stating that he would watch in case something took the opportunity to attack whilst the Tech-Priest and Nina searched the other stasis chambers. The rooms were dusty, and gloomy, with wreckage scattered around, similar in layout to the stasis chamber they had just left. However, each of the caskets in these other chambers each contained the remains of their former inhabitants, dead, apparently killed by plasma venting into the casket interiors. The only anomaly was found in chamber 16 where it appeared that three stasis caskets were opened prior to the plasma venting into them. They quickly left the chamber, and as they moved down the original circular corridor they found a tarnished map on the wall that showed that this area is connected to the rest of the Medicae Deck by a linking passageway, and as their search of the adjoining chambers revealing nothing else of interest the three survivors followed this path.

Their journey was not simple. Even with the guidance of the servo skull the three survivors were forced to double back on themselves as they found passageways choked with debris, or whole sections of floor missing, and so the made slow progress.

Suddenly the servo-skull announced "Investigative Laboratorium 5 is situated twenty-five metres beyond this location." It moved off down the passageway, with Asrodel, Nina and Bore following, and indicated a room branching off from the main corridor.

As Asrodel stepped into the room, he found himself confronted by a group of hunched, feral looking bestial humanoids, poorly dressed, dirty and with long hair, covered in minor wounds and sores, carrying ad-hoc and makeshift weapons. Three were attempting to drag a large suit of armour from one of the storage lockers, but they dropped it, and faced the intruders growling and screeching their displeasure.

"That is not yours. Release it now, and perhaps I will forgive you this trespass!" Asrodel bellowed at the creatures

One of the creatures looked at the others and grunted "Food!" The others nodded, and as a group they bounded forward screaming and shouting.

The fight was short and brutal, but not entirely one sided. Asrodel crushed two of the creatures with great swings of his club, but not before they had swarmed over him, inflicting a number of small cuts and tears in his flesh. Nina cut down another creature with her makeshift knife and Bore reached out and grasped any unfortunate to be within his reach, discharging energy from somewhere within his body, wreathing his victim in a lattice of blue sparks and power, leaving a blackened and burnt corpse on the floor, and other badly burned creatures scampering for safety, leaving the survivors alone.

The Tech-Priest then turned his attention to dressing the wounds of his comrades and salving some of their hurts, although initially he found the unusual physiology of Asrodel hard to understand. Once their wounds had been tended to, the three survivors investigate their surroundings more closely. Inside Investigative Laboratorium 5 they found a nightmarish collection of scientific equipment, several autopsy tables marred with ancient bloodstains, various sealed beakers and casks of long-decayed substances, and the mummified bodies of several of the crew who died there. Their weapons and gear were stored throughout the laboratorium in several stasis lockers of their own; they retrieved their equipment and after testing found that it was all functional, perhaps as a result of the effects of the stasis. They geared up, and prepared to move on.

The rest of the medicae deck followed the pattern of the areas that the three survivors had already discovered, and aside from the strange carrion eating humanoid creatures no other life forms were encountered, although there were signs, as had been evident in Stasis chamber 16, that some other prisoners may have escaped their caskets prior to the plasma venting into them.

Eventually, after many false starts, and dead ends, the small group found a route that looked like it may lead to the upper decks. A wide corridor, around fifty metres in length led to a flight of stairs leading upwards, however, equally obvious were the small alcoves and ports in the walls, which, along with the blast marks and number of skeletons on the floor suggested this corridor was heavily defended by automatic systems, and was clearly avoided by the carrion creatures that had been already encountered.

Bore carefully searched the area for a data connection node, and discovered that a key was required to deactivate the systems; he considered overriding the system, but the protection was unlike anything he'd previously encountered. He was, however able to discover that senior wardens carried the necessary keys, and after interrogating the servo-skull was able to add that in lower levels, in the prison holds, a Warden's Tower was located, and probability suggested that a key could be located within that structure.

Asrodel and the servo-skull took the lead once more, and the group made their way into the prison holds; the chambers were vast, and as the three looked down into the open space, a strong wind blew past them. From the centre of the canyon a spike of a tower knifed up, surrounded by a web of walkways and gantries. The structure dominated the holds, and the three figures stood in silence looking at the monument to the oppression of the Imperium. Suddenly the silence was broken by Asrodel; "Our destination, I assume?"

The servo-skill chirped a positive response, and without a word the Fallen Astartes moved on, and the others hurried to keep up.

As they descended into the holds, all the signs pointed to a brutal, close quarters, fight and the Tech-Priest was able to discern damage to the environmental controls, which he mused would be responsible for the strange wind that blew in this area of the ship. Ignoring the distinct lack of interest of his fellows, he continued to assess the damage around them as they walked. The route was perilous, and they were forced to traverse unsteady gantries that swayed and rocked under their weight, and from the gusts of the strange wind. Slowly they got closer to the floor of the vast cavern, and as they did so, the stench of the filth and waste that covered the decks got stronger; it seemed that the waste disposal process in this area had failed a long time before the three had been released from stasis. In the distance the occasional stopped figure of the now familiar carrion creatures could be seen wading through the filth.

Suddenly Asrodel growled "Be on alert!" His superhuman senses had detected slight vibrations through the gantry, and particles of dust moving as something disturbed them.

Forewarned Nina and the Tech-Priest spun round in time to see figures leaping from the walkways above. More of the carrion creatures had foolishly decided that the party would provide them their meal for the day.

Bellowing with the joy of battle that was about to begin, Asrodel charged into the group of creatures that landed in front of him, and after an exchange of blows he sent one spinning to its death on the distant floor below. The battle followed a familiar pattern as the creatures attempted to swamp the giant Marine, who suffered a number of small wounds, but methodically slaughtered any that stood before him, and as Nina struck those around her with her chainsword, foul blood splattered the walls. Bore calmly grasped any that came within his reach, discharging his internal power into the hapless creatures leaving charred and smoking corpses on the deck.

Although the carrion creatures were quickly dispatched, the fight nearly ended in disaster for Nina as she lost her footing and slipped over the edge of the gantry. She would have plummeted to the floor had she not managed to grasp a broken railing, and ultimately drag herself back onto the walkway. She smiled a rueful and somewhat relieved smile as she collected her discarded weapons from the deck plates and watch Asrodel offer a hand to the last surviving creature as it hung from the gantry where he had knocked it early in the fight. It reached for his armoured gauntlet relief in its eyes, and he lifted it, and then with contemptuous ease hurled it into the space and watched the creature's graceful arc, until it disappeared, screaming, with a sickening crunch into the filth on the distant floor.

"It will not oppose me again!" were the only words he offered in explanation

The three figures then descended to the tower, without further hindrance, and Bore dealt with the injuries he and his companions had suffered. The tower had been locked down, and there appeared no way to over-ride the locks from the outside, however, Asrodel spotted a maintenance hatch high up on the tower, and began to climb towards it. Bore and Nina tried to follow, but seemed unable to find a handhold and were forced to give up, so Nina shouted to Asrodel that he would have to gain access and open the door from inside to allow them to gain access.

Half an hour passed as Asrodel climbed the vast tower, and finally he reached the maintenance hatch, and forced it open; however, the gap was designed for a normal human; he was far too large to fit. Shouting epithets to the dark gods he descended, and collected the Tech-Priest who secured himself to his back, and they began the long climb again.

An hour later, the main door of the tower was open, and Bore stood there waiting as Asrodel and Nina crossed the threshold. Inside the tower they found the ancient corpses of the prison guards, little more than skeletons in uniforms, but more usefully they discovered weapons and ammunition. Most of the weapons were in a sad state of decay but a pair of grenades were discovered, which Asrodel took ownership of, and then they entered the command sanctum, where Bore connected himself to the cogitators within. He found a history of the vessel, leading up to the events of the rebellion on board; it seemed that a member of the crew had released an unknown force that had triggered the revolt, with the fiercest fighting being in the vicinity of their current location, before moving on to the armoury, where another brutal battle was fought. Trawling through the records he found that those wardens issued the keys that the survivors were looking for were also implanted with locator beacons; he triggered the activation codes of the locator beacons and waited for the reports appear on screen. The schematics indicated that only one was responding, and that was transmitting from within the bilges of the ship.

Bore reported his findings to his companions, and could not suppress a smile when Asrodel responded; "The bilges? They don't sound to be a very pleasant place to visit...!"

"None the less, Asrodel, that is where we must go!"'

The three figures made their way through the filth towards one of the huge drains that emptied into the bilges, when movement from the gantries above caught their eyes; a strange pointed helmed figure clad in spiked armour was watching them, and Asrodel spat; "Eldar scum!"

Realising it had been seen, the armoured figure melted into one of the side passages and out of sight. The companions turned, and carefully descended into the bilges themselves; they were a vile place, noticeably different from the decks above. The air was thick, foggy, and hard to breath and the sounds of the hull creak and groan all around. There was an air of oppression and visibility was poor, with a miasma of gasses and poor illumination sources few and far between. Strange noises constantly echoed down the dingy tunnels, but overriding it all was the foul stench that permeated the entire area.

As they followed the servo-skull which was homing in on the signal they were tracking, it was noticeable that the damage was less than on the decks they had previously been, and in the distance they could make out the hunched humanoid carrion creatures that they had encountered before, but they appeared to have learned their lesson and kept out of the way of the three figures. They passed rusted machinery, which had long since failed to work, and through what appeared to be the remains of a crew reclamation facility, with partly recycled bodies still present. The closer they got to the signal they were tracking, the worse the smell got.

Bore spoke up; "This increase in the severity of the smell is strange, considering not much had been alive here for two centuries, it makes no logical sense..."

"I was just thinking the same myself, Tech-Priest!" Asrodel growled in response. "Stay alert..." And the group fell quiet again.

They had advanced to within twenty metres of the signal source when a bubbling, burbling voice broke the silence, echoing through the tunnels.

"What hasss brought yooooou tooo my laaair...?"

"We are searching for something." Bore replied immediately.

"What issss iiiit yooooou seeearch foooor?"

Seeing little point in deception, the tech-priest answered "A command code security key."

A spherical figure, around the height of an average man, showing signs of decay and rot, and encrusted in filth shambled into view, and Asrodel muttered, "A servant of the Great Unclean One! I should have guessed..."

It stood, regarding the three figures standing in front of it.

Bore spoke again; "Do you know where it is?"

"I doooo not knoooow. Buuut I keeeep maaany preciousss thiiingssss heeeereee... I will fiiiind what yoooou wannnnt, but I wannnnt foooood!"

Bore nodded. "Asrodel, watch this creature!"

He turned and headed into a side tunnel, returning half an hour later with the corpse of one of the carrion creatures. Seeing Asrodel's face, he smiled, and spoke.

"I am not completely unaware of ambush tactics!"

Bore stepped forward and dropped the corpse in front of the plague creature, which nosily and messily consumed it.

"Mooorrre!" It demanded,

"When we have what we want..." Bore insisted

"Mooorrre!" The creature demanded again.

Bore looked to Asrodel. "Would you like to persuade it of the poor judgement it is exhibiting Asrodel?"

Asrodel grinned, turning his attention to the creature. "We will provide more food when you have delivered us the key!"

The creature looked about to argue when Asrodel growled "It would be unwise to cross us. You will be returned to the lair of your lord, sooner than you anticipate..." and instead it emitted a strange half whimper as the Marine drew his weapons, and then scuttled off.

Asrodel and Nina searched for the key in the nest of pestilence that the creature seemed to have created for itself, and Bore disappeared into a side chamber and hunted another carrion creature. When he returned to the chamber, he saw Asrodel retrieving the key from a desiccated, skeletonised corpse. Bore dumped his latest kill, and the three turned to leave the foul room.

Bore shouted "We promised you more once we had what we seek. We keep our word."

As they left the bilges, they heard the crunching and slurping of the creature feeding behind them.

The journey back to the Warden’s Tower in the prison hold was uneventful, but Bore noticed a humanoid figure moving cautiously on the gantries above, before it disappeared into the tower itself. As they approached the structure, they heard movement, and the sound of searching from within. Immediately on alert, they advanced with as much caution as they could, and then burst into the chamber to be confronted by a man armoured in what appeared to be Imperial Guard flak armour over the top of prison robes.

He looked up, shocked by the survivors’ sudden arrival, and he backed away rapidly, half raising his lasgun in shaky hands.

Asrodel growled, advancing on the man "Drop the weapon or I will take it from your corpse"

"Not a chance! I'm not giving my weapon up again!" the figure replied in a shaky voice

"Do you really think that that will hurt me?" the Marine laughed, contempt lacing through his voice.

"Alright! Alright! We can talk! Let's talk about it!" The man carefully placed his weapon on a nearby table, glancing with horror at the Fallen Astartes.

"Who are you?" Bore demanded.

The man tore his attention from Asrodel and answered; "Sergeant Kras Vorg of the 42nd Scintillian Volunteers."

The Tech-Priest nodded, and prompted; "Why are you on this vessel?"

The man looked down, shame washing over his face; "I was a prisoner..."

Asrodel, seemingly curious asked "You seemed to recognise me?"

"Not you personally, but you're one of those Forsaken Astartes, aren't you?" Sergeant Vorg looked nervous.

Asrodel nodded. "I do not view myself as fallen, or forsaken, I see myself as bathing in the true light."

Vorg remained silent for a few long seconds, before asking "Who are you all?"

"That is not important!" Asrodel snapped, before Bore smiled and added "We are engineering an exit..."

"I have wondering around these levels for a long time, I saw the doors open here and thought something may be of use inside..." Vorg explained, almost to himself.

The Tech-Priest turned to Asrodel and spoke; "An extra gun may be of use, it would be illogical to waste a trained soldier in such circumstances..."

"Aye, although my blades hunger for blood..." Asrodel grinned at the worried looking Sergeant.

Bore nodded. "Perhaps later there will be chance to sate them!"

Nina spoke up "Why are you here? Who sent you down this path?"

"The Commissars!" Vorg spat on the floor. "The swine! The accused me of lowering morale, and causing problems with the questions I asked. They called me a dissenter and handed me over to the Inquisition..."

Asrodel spoke again; "You are not the only one removed from his brethren for disbelieving the lies... You are one of us now!"

Sergeant Vorg's face showed a mix of horror and despair as the group moved out of the tower, and back over the gantries towards the passage upwards.

Nice write up as usual!

You have a unhidden love for the mechanicus!

Nina isn't saying much for such a social butterfly. Oh well. More!

Thanks for the shout out Crisaron!

Noisy_Marine, the player playing Nina is the least experienced of the group and hence 'roleplays' less than the other two.

Chapter 2: Broken Chains (Part 2)
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The group moved confidently back along the route to the corridor that gave all the indications that it would lead to the upper decks. The Heretek, Bore, took the command key and after several minutes waking and communing with the long slumbering machine spirits, he deactivated the defensive weapon systems, and opened the heavily armoured door at the far end of the corridor. With a satisfied smile, Asrodel led the group forward; Sergeant Vorg seemed to hesitate, but aware of the eyes of Nina Black watching him with suspicion, he followed on.

The escaped prisoners found themselves in a dark room, and although Asrodel could see reasonably well in the gloom, Bore modified his luminen capacitors and produced a glow that illuminated the immediate area enough that everyone could see, however, the energy drain left him feeling lethargic. Asrodel removed his helm as some of the systems within were broken, and used his super-human senses to gain a picture of what was ahead.

As they advanced, it became clear that the cavernous chamber had been a galley area, used to feed hundreds of crew. It had obviously not been in use for decades, and there was an occasional corpse, mummified by age and the dry air, curled on the floor. The group kept a silence, each lost in their own thoughts, when suddenly the servo skull came to abrupt halt, it emitted a series of tones and beeps before spinning on its own axis to face the group, and a new, deep and sonorous, voice was broadcast from its speakers;

"Heretics, you have been found guilty of the charge of failing to obey the laws of His Holy Highness on Terra!"

Bore yawned loudly, but the voice continued; "Surrender now and submit yourselves to his firm, but fair justice."

"Like being immolated in a tube of plasma?" Bore muttered quietly

"Submit to the will of the Inquisition and we will provide a quick judgement on you!"

Bore turned to the others; "If he's contacting us through the servo-skull, it means he knows where we are..."

The voice interrupted; "Correct. I know where you are!"

"And if it knows where we are..." the Tech-Priest continued, ignoring the voice "That means it's tracking us, and the only way it can do that is through the servo skull. I think we should destroy it."

"No, wait!" Nina spoke up.

Asrodel stepped forward, drawing his sword, and the voice spoke again, more quickly. "Before you make your choice, know that you are being used! Redeem your souls, and submit to my will!"

Bore snorted. "Redeem my soul? I do not think mine requires redemption! It was closed minded people that frowned on my experiments, and I know that once I have logically communicated my reasoning, and proved my results they will change their minds! If you speak of redemption it is to the wrong people here!"

"Salvation is at hand! Take it while you have chance! You do not wish to be the pawns of a creature of darkness!" A pleading note entered the voice as Asrodel took another step forward.

"Just remember that when the time of judgement comes, you do not want to be found wanting!" The voice continued.

"When the time of judgement comes," Nina interrupted "It will be you that's found wanting!"

"Throw yourself upon your knees and beg for his mercy!" The voice ordered. "You can be saved!"

"Asrodel will never beg!" The Marine growled.

The voice from the skull continued, growing more strident; "You can be saved through fire!"

"Enough!" Asrodel barked, and smashed the skull with his blade.

Nina shouted "Stop! I said stop!"

Asrodel used the momentum of his swing to carry his blade in an arc, and its tip halted less than a couple of centimetres from Nina's throat. "No one commands me! Certainly not you!"

Suddenly the tension between the two was gone as the air was crisscrossed with las bolts; the Inquisitorial Acolytes that had been laying in wait triggered their ambush using the quarrelling as a distraction.

Bore immediately doused the glow from his luminen capacitors and hit the deck plates, while both Asrodel and Nina turned and faced their mutual enemies. Sergeant Vorg took cover behind the nearest pile of wreckage. The Chaos Marine was hit a number of times, but seemed not to notice, and immediately returned fire, blasting one of the attacking Acolytes to pieces with a round from his legion bolter. Nina was also hit, but her armour absorbed the energy and she snapped off a shot from her pistol into the dark. Cursing, Bore took a las burn to his chest which caused his flesh to bubble and peel.

Asrodel howled a challenge and began to advance towards the source of the las fire, while Nina crouched trying to locate targets, and Bore rolled into cover before scanning the darkness for those that had shot at him. The Acolytes kept up a steady hail of fire at the group and Bore carefully picked a target, blasting it with is own las rifle, burning an arm from the unfortunate figure, which fell to the floor twitching and burning.

The Marine continued to charge towards the enemy, taking hit after hit, which ricocheted from his armour, or spattered off his body, seeming to do little more harm than rain. Following his lead Nina activated her chainsword and ran after him, and Bore continued to snipe at his foes, keeping them off balance. Sergeant Vorg was firing, but curiously his shots did not appear to be landing anywhere near the attacking troops. By the time Asrodel had closed to melee range, another Acolyte had taken a nasty wound, and he cut him down disdainfully, so Bore switched his aim to a figure that had charged towards Nina, blasting a hole in its chest, leaving another corpse on the floor.

The Acolyte facing Asrodel desperately blocked a swing aimed at his head, and the power blade in his hands shattered the Marine's sword. Howling in fury, Asrodel used the stub of his ruined blade to beat the unfortunate man to a pulp. Casting down the now useless weapon, he ripped the power blade from his victims' lifeless fingers and claimed it for his own. Seeing the effectiveness of the blade, Nina took one for herself from one of the other dead Acolytes. Bore and Sergeant Vorg advanced cautiously, linking up with up with the other two, and the Tech-Priest searched the bodes for useful equipment, and finding night-vision equipment, handed a headset to each of the others, allowing them to see in the dark, without having to tax Bore further with the use of his internal energy source.

Sergeant Vorg seemed reluctant to avail himself of the boon of the equipment that was available from the dead men, and Asrodel challenged him about this; "Why do you not take the ammunition?"

Somewhat cowed, he bent down and collected a number of las packs, giving the Marine a sullen look. Asrodel continued to speak. "These were sent here to kill you. Do you think they cared whether you protested or not?"

Finally Vorg spoke again. "No!" He snapped.

"I saw the warning they gave you." Asrodel was merciless with his sarcastic logic. "I saw the chance they gave you to surrender. I saw them attempt to take you alive and take you for questioning! They simply opened fire did they not? They did not care whether you lived or died!"

Vorg shook his head. "It's just the murder of Imperial servants does not come easily to me..."

The Chaos Marine almost laughed. "Murder? I call that self defence. They fired upon you, do not forget, and they fired first! If you feel like that, however, you could always drop your gear; you could walk weaponless, and let us see how they treat you... Do you think they will listen to your pleas...? Will they give you a chance to defend yourself...?"

The Sergeant could see the truth in the words, but a stubborn expression crossed his face; he clearly could not be swayed by Asrodel's words, truthful or not.

Acknowledging this, the Chaos Marine spoke again. "You may believe what you will, but if you are to stay with us we will not carry you. You must pull your own weight, and take you share of the fighting. If we find ourselves in a similar situation I expect you to stand with us, for if you do not, I will assume you stand against us."

Vorg looked up at the power armoured figure towering over him. "I am with you." He spoke in a quiet voice.

"Good. But know I will be watching you..." Asrodel turned on his heel and strode away.

The group continued to advance through the vessel, and soon emerged into an area that was powered, and were able to remove their night vision goggles. This area of the ship seemed cleaner and better cared for than the lower decks they had previously explored, although there were still the signs of decades of neglect and other structural damage, rendering large areas of the ship impassable. Bore requested a halt so he could tend to the las burns he had suffered at the hands of the Acolytes, and applied an oily salve to his chest, which relieved the pain, and treated the wound, and after the brief pause, the escaped prisoners moved on once again.

The group pushed on, and finally cleared the damaged corridors, finding themselves on the upper decks were in far better condition than anywhere they had previously seen; there were indications that repair and maintenance had been undertaken, although not for some time, and there were still areas of obvious danger where the hull had been breached, floors collapsed, or plasma conduits ruptured, but generally it seemed that this section of the prison ship had been spared the carnage that was evident elsewhere.

Bore began to search for an active data-port, so he could connect himself and try to find the schematics for the upper decks, so that their journey could be better planned. He walked around a corner, having only found damaged or unpowered connections, and was confronted by a scrawny, filthy looking individual, wearing what looked like a hide jacket and trousers, but barefoot. Its looks were similar to those of the carrion creatures that had been previously encountered on the lower decks, and it was carrying a spear as a weapon.

Bore, immediately on alert, stopped short, before watching it to see its reaction. The others members of the group followed him round the corner, and seeing the creature they too stopped.

Nina carefully lowered her weapons, stepped forward and spoke; "What is your business here?"

The figure cringed slightly, the spoke in a fractured form of Low Gothic. "Me Bog! Queen see you! Friends!" Bog grinned a gap toothed grin, and nodded, bobbing up and down.

"Me Nina! Where is queen?" Nina slipped into the strange argot that the creature was using.

"Big Queen boss!" Came the helpful response, followed by another grin, then it waved its arms around, called "Queen! Queen!" and shambled off, checking over its' shoulder to make sure the group was following.

The four figures looked at each other, before Bore shrugged, and cautiously they followed Bog.

As they walked, they began to notice more of the creatures, in rooms, or side corridors, all similar in appearance to Bog, until they were finally ushered into a chamber that had been decorated with things that the inhabitants of the area obviously saw as valuable. There were scores and scores of the creatures in the huge chamber, and at one end was a huge throne in the form of a teetering pile of broken blades, armour, and tech. On the throne sat a woman, dressed in the same hide clothing that was evident on the other creatures. She was covered with tribal tattoos and face-paint, and was equipped with some of the better looking weapons that the group had seen. Bog scampered up to her, and they exchanged a few words, before he disappeared into the group of people around the throne.

Nina stepped forward, and spoke. "Thank you for your hospitality..."

"The Queen smiled. "I Queen Scarna of the Carrion." She opened her arms up, and indicated the people in the chamber, who hooted their approval, and clattered their weapons together to add to the din. "My strength keeps tem together. Your progress, I watch. You are skilful, you have abilities we do not."

Asrodel glared at the body guards that flanked the Queen, as though measuring, and dismissing them.

Queen Scarna spoke again; "You help me!"

Nina smiled. "Why? What is in it for us?"

"We not be any problem for you, we help you instead!" The Queen promised.

Asrodel snorted; "Problem?" He glared around. "Who wants to be first to die on my blade?"

"Now Asrodel..." Nina chided gently, "We can hear her out. We do not have to agree to anything!"

The Queen smiled widely. "You help me, you get this ship, and we take my people to the hold with no ceiling!" She held up a data-slate with an image, and data relating to a distant agri-world projected. She smiled again and waved a hard copy print of another world.

"These are different worlds..." Bore mused. "It would seem that they just want to settle any world, and be off this ship..." He turned to the others; "We need to take this ship anyway. We could offer her help, but with conditions to help us with our own goals. We need some time to rest and eat, help in any fighting with the forces on this ship, and guides to accompany us around the vessel..."

The others looked at each other and nodded, so Nina turned to Queen Scarna and outlined the terms.

The Queen nodded quickly, and then frowned. "How do I know you can do this?"

Bore interjected before Nina could answer; "I thought that you had been monitoring us?"

"I see, but I do not know..." Queen Scarna shrugged and added. "Up is hard, down is easier...!"

Nina laughed. "Tell one of your men to step forward, we can demonstrate!"

Queen Scarna nodded approvingly, and clapped her hands, indicating Bog, and the worried looking creature stepped forward. The crowd hooted with approval as the Queen demanded, "Show me!"

Bog, growing in confidence began, to spin his spear and crouched taking a fighting stance, and Nina smiled, raised her bolt pistol, and blew a hole in his chest. Bog looked surprised, then confused, before collapsing forward to the deck, dead. Cries of shock rang through the chamber, and people ducked and shuffled around looking for cover, though the Queen held her position and looked on with and expression of approval, mixed with shock.

"A valiant effort, however I do not believe in showmanship!" Nina stooped to pick up the unfortunate Bog's spear which she handed to Scarna.

"Eat with me!" The Queen offered, nodding, and the group settled down, the agreement obviously made.

After they had eaten, Bore began recharging his core from any devices he could find that were holding power, the closed his eyes to rest. Asrodel kept watch; his superhuman metabolism meant he was not suffering from the fatigue the others were prone to. As she slept Nina was surprised to be woken by a thready voice scratching at the back of her skull. Nobody was near her, yet she heard the words clearly; "Crane... he is your enemy. He is our enemy! Yes! Be warned. Crane has sent his minions to defeat you. The murderers... The servitors. He has sent his proxies to take control of them. They are on the gun deck! Hurry...!"

She roused herself and told Asrodel and Bore what the voice had told her. Queen Scarna overheard and gasped; "The iron beasts! They are shaped like a man, but of iron! They have huge claws and sharp knives. The move around and kill..."

Bore sighed, and spoke. "Murder Servitors!"

Queen Scarna continued; "There are lots! More than eight! They are on the land with huge cannons..."

"The gun deck, as the voice told you… Hmmm… We could perhaps use these ourselves..." Bore mused aloud.

Asrodel nodded. "Better than fighting them!"

Half an hour later, Their new guides of a dozen "tested hunters" leading the way, the group headed to the shaft that led up to the gun-decks. It would be a difficult climb; so on arrival at the base of the shaft Asrodel took a rope from one of the guides and began to ascend planning to lower it to haul the others up the shaft. He reached out to grasp a cross-brace, but, with a crack it broke under his weight, and, his arms flailing he began to slip backwards...

Chapter 3: Broken Chains (Part 3)

Quickly, Asrodel flipped the slack in the rope so it looped around a broken beam, and shouted to those waiting below to brace themselves; the Heretek quickly clamped onto the floor with his utility mechedendrite, and wrapped the rope around a beam to act as an anchor point, the others added their weight and strength to helping secure the slipping Marine. The half tonne weight of the falling Astartes dragged those at the bottom of the shaft forwards, but the securing of the rope around the two anchor points proved critical, and it snapped tight, leaving Asrodel swinging against the side of the shaft, his armour clattering against the damaged superstructure.

"Asrodel!" Bore shouted, "Get a handhold!"

Nina sighed, and muttered, "Well there goes the element of surprise!"

"Well, you could always get up there and help..." Bore pointed out.

Perhaps remembering her last efforts at climbing, Nina chose not to comment, instead peering up the shaft to see Asrodel drag himself up, and onto a nearby walkway and secure the rope. He tested the security of the rope and called for the others to climb and join him.

Nina climbed first, followed by Bore, and then the Carrion Hunters began to ascend. As the Heretek looked at his surroundings; a narrow walkway that looked as though it had once been part of a larger deck, Nina whispered a warning.

"There's something beyond this door!" and she stepped back

Asrodel moved to investigate when the doors were forced open by bladed hands. He was confronted by a pair of half human half machine figures, and seeing them, Bore muttered "Murder servitors!"

The Marine charged into the doorway forcing them back, and held the doorway, and smashed one into the ground as Nina and Bore opened fire on the second one. Further down the corridor another murder servitor could be seen approaching. Kras Vorg finally made it to the top of the rope, and dragged himself over the ledge. He quickly raised his lasgun and began to fire at the servitors. Nina fired the last of her bolt pistol rounds and drew her chainsword, and joined Asrodel in the melee as Bore blasted another servitor, leaving it a smoking ruin on the floor. Beyond it he could see two more of the servitors approaching, and he sighed in resignation. Nina deftly side-stepped an attack, and thrust her chainsword into the face of her attacker when a movement to her side caught her eye, and desperately, she threw herself aside as a lasbolt from Vorg's rifle smacked into the wall, through where she had just been standing. The Sergeant made some modifications to his sights and took a firing stance once more.

Between them, the group concentrated their fire, and quickly took down the remaining murder servitors, leaving pieces of flesh and metal on the floor, and as the first of the Carrion Hunters made it to the walkway, they looked around them with fear and surprise.

Asrodel turned on his heel, and grabbed Vorg by the throat and hung him over the edge of the drop; "You nearly shot her! That means you nearly shot me! Do that again and you will not live to regret it, that I promise you!"

"But... You said...!" Vorg spluttered "You said... I had to... fight!"

He released the stunned man, who slid to the floor, before seeming to find strength in his legs, and steady himself.

"Take more care!" Asrodel hissed, and stalked away.

The Marine gathered the rope, and continued his climb to the gun deck, this time without incident, and within an hour, the entire party found themselves safely at the top of the shaft.

The gun deck was covered with salvageable equipment, something that the escaped prisoners had not encountered on the lower decks. Bore surmised that this indicated that no-one had been there in recent times, a fact that immediately put people on guard. This proved to be fortuitous indeed, as in the shadows more of the servitors could be made out, either moving around on some unknown task, or simply standing in the shadows. Carefully the group moved on, with Nina surveying the ground for ammunition for her bolt pistol, but none was to be found. Asrodel pointed out that the ship had been a prison vessel, so weaponry would most likely be more tightly guarded that normal, and the only place she'd be certain to find replacement bolts would be in the armoury.

The leader of the Carrion Hunters shook his head vigorously at this; "Gun place bad! Vary bad!" He crouched down and made a monster face and a low whining, ghost type noise.

"There's a monster in the armoury?" Nana asked "What monster?"

The man shrugged. "Go! Die! Lots of blood!"

Nina smiled, and turned to Bore. "Looks like we'll have a fight on our hands, Tech-Priest."

'"Don't we always?" Came the impassive reply.

The Carrion Hunter waved his hand in the direction they had come from. "Here not! Gun place over there!"

"OK, we shall go!" Nina said simply.

Asrodel and Bore agreed, but only after they'd dealt with the threat to activate the murder servitors on this deck. At that point Bore pointed out the need to find the cogitator command node where the servitors would be controlled from.

"I will need an active cogitator console to search from..." He pointed out.

Asrodel indicated two slow moving servitors carrying a third, inert one into the gloom. "Would it not be simpler to follow those?"

Bore nodded, with a small smile on his face, and the group carefully tracked their quarry.

After an hour of movement, there was a clatter of metal on metal as someone accidently knocked over one of the stacks of crates standing precariously on the deck. Out of the shadows, two murder servitors appeared, and move directly towards the source of the noise. Conscious that gunfire would draw more servitors to them, Bore hissed "No gunfire!"

Asrodel charged at one, leaving Nina and Bore to deal with the other, and Vorg took control of the Carrion Hunters, having to use his rifle butt to silence one that attempted to start a battle cry.

The servitors were dispatched quickly, in silence, although after the fight Bore had to treat some minor wounds before they were ready to move on. After dealing with his comrade's wounds, the Tech Priest paused, before suggesting that as it was logical to surmise that a number of servitors were keyed to move towards any unusual nose, a diversion leading them away from their direction of travel would work. He carefully moved a trolley of gas cylinders that once contained the propellant that would have been used to launch the macro-cannon shells from the huge guns, into a side corridor, and placed a grenade on it. Then he attached a thread, removed from the rope, to the pin, trailing it out for several dozen metres. As planned, the detonation of the grenade created a cacophony of noise, as the cylinders were thrown against the corridor walls, and the gloom came alive with servitors moving to investigate.

The journey to the cogitator command node proceeded as planned; uninterrupted and without further incident.

The cogitator command node was a large open area. In the centre the group could make out a Tech-Priest leaning over a console, and surrounding him were four Alpha Acolytes, and a dozen murder servitors. It was clear that a direct assault would fail, so the team made use of some of the items available on the gun deck. Again, they commandeered one of the ammunition trolleys, and loaded it with several of the propellant canisters, this time making sure they were still full. Between the canisters a grenade was placed once again, however this time with the pin removed; the trolley would be pushed into the enemy troops, and when it hit anything the canisters would shift, and the grenade released, would detonate.

Following up this initial distraction assault, the Carrion Hunters would charge into action, and Asrodel, Nina and Bore would attack from the flank. They ran over the plan a number of times, mainly for the benefit of the Carrion Hunters, before putting it into action.

The ambush worked almost perfectly; the initial explosion destroyed four of the murder servitors, and the follow up attack tied the surviving cyborgs up in combat as the Carrion Hunters darted in and out, isolating, and attacking them using their superior numbers, and power blade of Kras Vorg, to good effect. Bore remained in the shadows, sniping at the Alpha Acolytes providing covering fire to Asrodel and Nina as they charged in. The Chaos Marine cut through his opponents with ease, before confronting and destroying the Tech-Marine, allowing Bore to move in and take control of the surviving six murder servitors. Seeing this, the last surviving Alpha Acolyte fled into the darkness. Asrodel and Nina scavenged the weapons from the bodies of the Alpha Acolytes, looking for anything that they could use as the ammunition for their own weapons was expended; other spare weapons were distributed to Vorg and the Carrion Hunters.

Despite his best efforts, Bore was unable to extend his control to any of the other servitors, but he was able to report that no-one else would be able to activate, or control, any additional servitors either. Their task achieved, and, once again, their wounds tended to by the Heretek, they moved out, flanked by their newly acquired murder servitors, and headed back towards the shaft. On the way they were forced to destroy other small groups of murder servitors that intercepted them, however, they proved little obstacle to the newly reinforced party, who cut through them and pushed on.

The leader of the Carrion Hunters explained that the armoury was located a deck higher, so following the methodology of their previous ascent Asrodel lead the climb with the rope, followed by the others except Bore, who secured the servitors to the rope allowing those above to drag them upwards, before following himself. The effort, combined with the wounds he had suffered over the previous days strained even the super-human physiology of the Chaos Marine, leaving him more tired than he had been for a long while.

The deck they found themselves on was more deserted than the gun deck, and had seemed to suffer more damage; some chambers were flooded with plasma, and others blocked by fallen debris. Even though they moved carefully, and manhandled the servitors through the more difficult areas two were lost in plasma pools by the time the group had navigated yet another cramped and partially collapsed passageway, which, when they exited through a wrenched-open bulkhead, they found a massive vault door at the end of a corridor.

A Carrion Hunter gasped, and muttered "The bloody path!"

Indeed, the area had once seen a bitter struggle and thousands of bodies, of prisoners, guards and crew choked the area. It was clear that to approach the armoury a path would need to be forced through the mounds of crumbling and dusty corpses.

The Tech-Priest shrugged; "I suppose I had better examine the door..." and began to move through the piles of the dead.

Suddenly Nina, following a few metres behind cried "Bore! Watch your back!" and pinned a murder servitor, that had been hidden in the dead, to the floor with her power blade. She twisted the weapon and severed the spine of the would-be attacker. The Heretek nodded his thanks, and pushed on.

The door was sealed, with a flickering key-pad inset in the bulkhead next to it, knowing that it would take a while to try to break the encryption securing the armoury Bore was about to turn to the others to tell them to make themselves comfortable when suddenly a string of numbers whispered into his brain. Sure enough, once the sequence was entered into the door, it swung open with a lingering groan. Weapons ready Bore and Nina stepped forward. Inside, they found the once orderly armoury in utter ruin; racks of weapons were shattered and overturned, shell casings littered the floor, and explosion marks scored the walls. Everywhere were bodies; dried and mummified corpses of the crew who defended this place two hundred years ago, and those of the prisoners who attacked them. In the centre of the destruction, a patch of space was blasted clear. There, bound by smoking chains and surrounded by glowing wards carved into the ground, a withered corpse hovered two metres off the ground. The corpse’s head lifted, its eyes glowing, it bared its teeth in a rictus grin. When it spoke, the voice was the same one that Nina had heard in her head before;

"Hello, my friends. I am Karnak Zul, the architect of your salvation, as you shall be the architects of mine."

Nina looked to the Heretek and spoke with a wry tone to her voice. "I thought this had been too easy!"

Bore nodded, turned round, and called down the corridor; "I think you need to see this Asrodel..."

"Yes! Come closer!" Zul encouraged.

As the Chaos Marine entered the armoury, Bore, obviously suspicious of Zul stood his ground, and Nina took a step away from the creature.

"I am the one that saved you!" It hissed. "I am the one that changed the programming...!"

"And how would you do that?" Asrodel asked, sceptically.

"Even though I am weakened, I still have some power to affect the protocols!"

Asrodel looked to Bore, who indicated it may be possible, and then spoke. "Assuming we accept that this is so, why would you do that? What I know of daemons, they are not known for their charity and kindness towards others..."

"I need you to help me, as I helped you." Zul smiled its rictus grin once more. "We need to stop Crane. A long time ago he trapped me here after I killed his pathetic master. He fled and sealed himself on the bridge and took refuge with his Acolytes, there he hid in stasis hoping that the Chains would once again be discovered by those fools that worship him on the golden throne..." Zul chuckled and continued. "But now they are awake. He hopes to bring the vessel out of the warp and activate a beacon to summon his colleagues. If he should succeed we are all doomed..."

Asrodel nodded. "You are trapped..." He emphasised. "We can escape. We simply need the ship"

Zul laughed again. "How do you plan to navigate? I could do this. I could take you through the warp storm known as the "Screaming Vortex", and take you to a place where the Imperium does not exist! Only I can do this..."

At this Bore and Nina looked cynical. "Really?" The Tech-Priest challenged him. "I do not believe you are speaking the complete truth. What are you holding back?"

The withered corpse spun its head with unnatural speed in the direction of Bore, and its eyes glowed brightly. "Perceptive aren't we?"

"On occasion!" Bore agreed.

Asrodel growled, "We could walk away. You offer us nothing..."

"Maybe you could navigate the ship, but I am the only one who could navigate accurately... And you are wounded and tired, you will need my aid to defeat Crane..." Zul insisted.

"We only have your word on that." Bore argued. "You offer us little more; I see no gain for us."

The three escaped prisoners continued to challenge the daemon animated corpse until finally Asrodel lost patience and began to search the armoury. He found two magazines worth of bolt-pistol ammunition that would fit Nina's weapon scattered around the room, and locked away in what appeared to be an evidence canister, found a magazine of ammunition for his own Legion bolter, along with an additional cache of three grenades. Further weapons were collected for the Carrion Hunters, to make them more effective in the coming battle.

Finally, exasperated Asrodel turned to the others. "I do not trust it, but I would rather have its aid, than its enmity..."

Nina did not seem so sure, but Bore shrugged, before speaking. "Agreed!"

The Heretek examined the wards and glyphs on the floor that were binding Zul. He realised that some slight changed would cause them to collapse.

"Freeeee! I am freeeeee at last!" It hovered towards Bore. "A wise decision!"

"So you say..." Bore replied impassively.

Zul smiled again. "I need a new host. Otherwise I would be too weak to fight Crane!"

Asrodel advanced on Zul, weapons drawn. "That was not part of the agreement!"

Zul laughed; "There was no "agreement", yet I will keep my word..."

"What would you need as a host?" Bore asked

Zul looked at the three of them in turn; "You! You would provide a suitable host! Not one of those mewling weak things outside..."

At this, Bore actually laughed, "I am sure I would, but you cannot have me!"

"I could promise to give it back when we are done?" Zul offered

"And what guarantee would I have that you would keep your promise? No!" Bore said simply.

Zul smiled again; "So distrustful, Tech-Priest, so distrustful... One of Cranes minions would be a useful host..."

Asrodel shocked everyone by suddenly offering to host Zul himself, but he laid down a series of terms and conditions, and Zul suddenly seemed cowed slightly, as though he recognised Asrodel and his past deeds from whispers in the warp.

"It need not be you. There is another. We would need you in the upcoming fight..." Zul spoke somewhat hesitantly.

Asrodel turned to Bore; "Do we trust him with someone not so strong?"

"I do not believe we should trust him at all." The Heretek shrugged. "But I understand the logic of the argument; you fighting alongside the power of the daemon will be more effective than both your powers being shackled within a single body."

"Another host... Yes... There is another escaped prisoner, is there not? He would suffice!" Zul hissed.

Bore nodded. "Asrodel, you seem to have developed a relationship with the man...!"

The Chaos Marine looked thoughtful. "How long would you need Zul? Do you need him conscious?"

"Not long..." The daemon smiled. "I will talk the Tech-Priest through the process! Conscious is better, I savour the pain and the fear!"

Bore called for Sergeant Vorg, and as he walked through the entrance to the armoury Asrodel blocked his retreat, and he stopped short seeing the ancient deamonhost floating above the floor. Nina stepped forward, and made to put her arm around him, but he had survived long enough as a soldier to be wary and backed off.

"What're you doing?" he demanded

Bore began to scratch markings into the floor around him.

Nina smiled widely. "You know how we need to finish off the Interrogator?" The Sergeant nodded, so she continued. "How would you feel about being... Empowered to play a crucial role?"

"Empowered? What do you mean?" Vorg demanded, confused and somewhat uneasy.

Nina's smile remained fixed to her face. "Look on it as a promotion... A move to a higher realm..." She glanced at the current body of Zul

Realisation struck home, and he shouted "Do I look ******* stupid!" He raised his lasgun, and blasted several shots at Nina who flung herself out of the path of the lasbolts.

Bore took a step back, seemingly finding the situation fascinating, and somewhat entertaining, and Asrodel stepped forward and attempted to restrain the unfortunate man. Desperation, and a keen will to survive lent Sergeant Vorg an agility and strength that allowed him to stay clear of the grasp of the Chaos Marine for almost two full minutes, before he was grasped, and struggling weakly, held in Asrodel's iron grip. The Heretek followed the instructions that Zul recited, and suddenly the old body collapsed to dust, and Vorg stopped struggling.

Suddenly from Vorgs' mouth Zul spoke. "You can release me now! I control this shell. Now let us go and kill that worm, Crane..."

Asrodel released Zul's new body and stepped back. "You spoke of an alternative route to the bridge..."

An air of power, and a trail of faint smoke emitted from Zul's new body as he described a route through the air ducts that fed the bridge; all could fit through, although it would be a tight fit for the Chaos Marine. A plan was made for the remaining murder servitors to assault the bridge itself and trigger any ambushes and for Nina and Bore to lead the Carrion Hunters through the ducts. As soon as the murder servitors came under fire, Nina and Bore would use the distraction to appear behind the defenders. This would be the signal for Asrodel and Zul would enter through the main entrance to further sow confusion amongst the enemy ranks.

The plan agreed, they began to move out to make the final journey to the bridge, when Zul spoke again; "Wait. Asrodel, you are weakened by your efforts to date. Fetch me one of the scum..."

Bore nodded, and selected the Carrion Hunter that appeared the most injured, leading him back to Zul. The daemon grasped the creature by his head, and power leapt from his outstretched hand, and surrounded the Chaos Marine, who appeared visible refreshed.

Asrodel smiled. "Well then, let's get going!"

Whether through good fortune, good planning, or through the power and menace that the group projected, the trip to the bridge was uninterrupted, and at the end of the corridor, they began to put their plan into action and Nina, Bore and the remaining Carrion Hunters entered the air ducts. Asrodel and Zul ushered the murder servitors before them. A few short minutes later Zul asked for, and received psychic confirmation from Nina that they were in place, and nodding a signal to Asrodel, the murder servitors were sent on to the bridge.

The storm of gunfire that met, and destroyed the four remaining servitors, was the signal that Bore and Nina were waiting for; they dropped out of the ducts accompanied by the first pair of Carrion Hunters who charge, howling, at the defenders. Nina and Bore aimed carefully, and opened fire at the surprised Acolytes.

As the defenders attempted to turn to face the new threat, Asrodel and Zul stepped through the bridge doors, the power of the warp snaking out from Zul's hands reaching out for targets and blasting chunks from the deck and the defenders barricades, covering Asrodel's charge forwards. As he ran Asrodel glanced up, and saw a shocked looking Interrogator Crane looking down from the mezzanine that surrounded the bridge. After a pause, he began to run for the stairway that led down to the centre of the bridge where his Acolytes suddenly found themselves surrounded.

The initial attacks shredded several Acolytes, leaving nothing more than bloody rags, although Crane's murder servitors did extract some revenge on the Carrion Hunters that had engaged them. Fortunately these were soon replaced by their comrades still emerging from the vents, and the fight devolved to a series of individual melees; it was clear that there would be little doubt as to the outcome of the fight if the current circumstances remained; the initial devastating surprise had put the defenders on their back foot, and although several Carrion Hunters fell to the blades of Cranes Acolytes and servitors, and both Asrodel and Nina suffered wounds, the momentum was obviously in the favour of the attackers, so it was with an air of desperation that Interrogator Crane leapt down the stairs to the floor of the bridge.

Across the bridge, Karnack Zul cackled and launched a torrent of warp energy at the Interrogator, but the power was defeated by a hemisphere of energy that sprung up around his target as Crane joined the battle, shouting a challenge at Asrodel before confronting him.

"Death to the enemies of the Emperor! You will burn for your sins, heretic! Bow down, fool, and accept his judgement and your soul may be saved!"

Asrodel snorted. "The only will that controls me is my own. I have freedom. True freedom! I do not serve the corpse of a once man, a vampire that drinks the souls of the living. Nor do I serve the corrupt officialdom of a crumbling Imperium. It is you that is the fool Crane!"

"Then burn free, traitor!" screamed Crane, and lunged at him with his blade.

The Chaos Marine easily avoided the Interrogator's attack before turning his decades of combat experience to good use, cutting Crane down in a flurry of blows from his power blade.

"Perhaps your corpse-god will be waiting for you on the other side Crane!"

Crane, gasping for breath appeared to be fumbling with something in his robes, before he spoke through the blood bubbling from his lips; "If... I die... you will be... coming with me... Traitor!"

Asrodel stepped over him to finish him and a grenade fell onto the Interrogator's chest. He was laughing weakly as it detonated, shredding the ruined body, while shrapnel pinged harmlessly from the ceramite armour of the Marine. Standing, Asrodel held high the bloody head and upper torso of Crane and bellowed at the few surviving Acolytes;

"Drop your weapons and surrender! Your foolish leader is dead. Your Emperor has betrayed you and left you to die. Hold now and you will not be destroyed, continue to fight and you will receive no mercy!"

Two continued to fight, and were quickly cut down, while one of the men realising his like fate shrieked "Praise to the Dark Lords! Hail to their servants!" Another quickly followed his example, and with the deaths, or conversion of the last defenders, the surviving murder servitors who had depended on instructions from them, set themselves to standby mode, and stood passively.

Howling with an insane laughter Zul chanted phrases in a dark tongue and navigated the Chains of Judgement through the "Screaming Vortex" and then dropped her out of the warp, and onto the outskirts of an unidentified system, somewhere in real-space.