Verum Illuminate (story)

Gabriel Ziad smiled genuinely when he saw the boy he was looking for. A prideful boy walking off to protect the Imperium. He was taller than the boys his age and bulkier than most. His brown hair was cropped short and he had a very clean and clear complexion. His green eyes were focused and hopeful. His shoulders were squared, like he meant business but his step showed his excitement. One could tell that this child had been waiting all his life for this day.He knew this boy, although he had never met him. His file said he would be perfect for the Chapter, a great addition. What made him special was subtle. His devotion to the Emperor was perfect, his desperation to leave this world and find an honourable purpose, to protect the Imperium of Man from heretics, Xenos and chaos, excellent. His parents supported him completely and watched as he walked away to live his father's dream, Ziad assumed... This child had worked hard on his father's potato farm, which had made him stronger than other children who had picked berries and other crops. This child was a risk, though, because he was smart but he respected authority so this would help and if his mental prowess proved to be an issue, they could simply erase that, he thought. Hopefully he was right. The advantages of having him in the Chapter outweighed the risks. They had special ways to deal with the risks. Usually they could either bring the Marines back into the fold or just use them in Delta squad. It would be highly disappointing to loose this one to Delta squad. Ziad had high hopes for him.

The boy's parents walked away when they lost sight of their eldest son, leaving this forsaken planet for a better life. They were likely returning to work as their daughter would be watching their other son. As the parents saw their precious boy leave to become a hero, they beamed with pride. No greater honor was bestowed upon a family name than when they joined the Space Marines. I started walking casually toward the boy. I loved recruitment. These children would be wasted on other Chapters of Space Marines, we could use them to their full potential. We can make the Emperor proud. Our work is important. Finding heretics in the ranks of other Space Marines, stopping them before they turned completely and, like a rotten apple, infect the rest of the group quickly and completely. By the time the Inquisitors were involved, it was usually too late. Most of the damage was done. We got to them before they infected others...stopped the plague of heresy from spreading. It is not like we didn't receive orders to retake certain planets from xenos attacks or other high priority cases but this, this was what we lived for. New blood, keeping the numbers up, staying behind a veil of secrecy, under the Emperor's orders.

The scroll says that it is important to keep the secret of our real mission. We are the chosen, the few. I approached the boy as he got into the line to enter the recruitment center for another Chapter of Space Marines. I spoke to a few kids ahead of him, introducing myself as Instructor Ziad, which was true. I asked some questions and jotted down some notes and thanked them for their time. Finally, I got to my target.

"Hello, I am instructor Ziad. Would you mind answering some questions for me? Name?"

He straightened up a bit and answered: "Vek, Alessander Vek, sir."

"Well then Vek, what makes you want to join this Chapter of Space Marines? What are your qualifications? Just a bit of pre-screening. We are always looking for the creme de la creme to join our special division."

"Oh, sir, it is an honor for me to join the Marines. I want to make a difference,fight for the Emperor, serve him and eliminate any and all threats to the Imperium. I am a strong man, I am not afraid of hard work and I would like a chance to die for the Emperor."

Vek arched his eyebrow. "Interesting...and you are not just here to get off this miserable planet? That is what most people your age reply to that question...but not you? Why is that Alessander Vek?"

Vek let the question sink in, probably evaluating and weighing my wording, which may have seemed strange to him but that was the point.

"You read me well, Sir. I just want to serve, fight and die for the Emperor, help his light reach into every corner of the Imperirum and perhaps see Holy Terra with my own eyes but If it is not his will then, I will stay behind and do my duty here."

"Alright, Alessander Vek, if you would kindly come with me. You do not have to wait here, this does not appear to be the right Chapter for you. You may want to join the Verum Illuminate, a Chapter of Space Marines who specialize in searching and apprehending traitors and heretics. We tend to be called in on sensitive cases. It is up to you, you can join this Chapter and also do the Emperor's work or you can join us, the Elite, the last defense against the forces of chaos. Unfortunately, the offer stands for as long as I stand here, or I could find another candidate but with your answers and dedication, I do believe I have found my man. What say you?

Vek does not answer. He is deep in thought. Ziad waits for a few minutes then shrugs and starts walking away.

"Have a nice day M. Vek."

Vek grabs his bag and runs after Ziad.

"Sir, it would be an honour to accept your offer. Verum Illuminate, that means the Enlightened truth. The Emperor's light, the Emperor's truth, there is only one truth and I will lay my life down for the Emperor. I will do my best to not let you down. I will not to let the Emperor down."

"Glad to hear it. This will not be easy, some days you will want to quit, walk away, you've had enough, cannot do it anymore. Sometimes the enemy will try to make your faith waver but you must stay strong and remember that The Emperor Protects and guides you, a chosen son of sorts. Your brothers will stand with you and die with you."

Instructor Ziad had been kind on recruitment day but as soon as training began, he started being incredibly strict, especially with me. I wanted to prove that he had not made a mistake by chosen me so I worked as hard as I could. This morning was the same as all the others. Training was nearing its end. Soon it will be determined if I am good enough to be part of the elite. Sometimes, I felt like, perhaps, I would make it to echo squad but other times, I wondered if I was defective. Just the other day, I thought I had hallucinated but maybe I was just recalling a dream. I did not dream much here. There was no time to dream.Time! I checked the time and quickly snapped out of those thoughts. Inspection will start shortly. I made the bed perfectly, everything was spotless, not a speck of dust on a dresser or a wrinkle on the bed. The trick was sleeping on the bed. All you had to do in the morning was smooth out the wrinkles, so much faster than making the perfect bed.

In my mind, I joined my battle brothers and imagined their breathing patterns, once I was ready and sure I was on the same wave length, I calmly made my way to the corridor waiting for the inspector to come by. Everything went fine, as usual. We had been doing this for years at this point. We had yet to see any action, to serve the Emperor's will. We were getting close to the end of training soon we will be out in the real world ridding the Imperirum of Traitors. For now, a couple more weeks and then, the worthy will be assigned to Echo Squad. Some of our Brothers have already moved on to other training and have been selected for Delta Squad. Those guys were like robots. Only one thing on their mind. Fight, Win, Destroy. Never a word all action. I really didn't want Delta Squad. I had gotten away with a few minor stumbles but nothing big enough to earn me Delta. I was going to keep my nose clean and nothing will stop me from reaching Echo.

The day would start in the great hall.

"What is death?"

"It is your duty."

"What is your duty?"

"To serve the Emperor's will!"

Our voices echoed in the great hall. Not a sound, not a breath was taken, not a move out of sync. We are soldiers, we are family, brothers of the Verum Illuminate, Servants of the God-Emperor, enforcers. We will accomplish his will and honour his will and follow his orders. This was our training. Training for the real world, our battlefield. Every day, we will seek the truth, victory over the forces of chaos by capturing, detaining or destroying traitors. Ridding the Imperium of the unpure. There were hundreds of us, all lined up, in parade, wearing our Power armours, standing, ready, waiting for our orders. Our instructor repeated loudly once again.

"What is death?"

"It is your duty."

"What is your duty?"

"To serve the Emperor's will!"

The instructor turns and looks at us, inspecting us. He hit his chest with his first and the sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the great hall. We counted to three and did the same. We then counted to three again and marched out of the great hall. The training was rigorous. We had to be mentally prepared for anything. Destroying any creature who vowed allegiance to the force of chaos. Ridding the worlds of the evil that threatens the Imperium. We marched for hours, reciting our vows of serving the Emperor. We did not stop for food or drink. Once we had marched for 4 hours straight, we moved to combat training. One on one...show no mercy. The battle was over once the Instructor called the battle over. We took turns. As the combatants battled, we stood, unmoving, breathing in unison and watched. After another 3 hours of battle, we were free to sit together and talk, laugh and eat our rations, which was a 30 minute break. We then convene the auditorium where we started prayer, read the will of the Emperor. Every day, we recited the words of the Sacred Scroll, word for word. The story of how it disappeared for so long without a trace. Our vow to never loose the word of the Emperor again. We studied and were taught the will of the God Emperor. We were a special Chapter.

We were chosen by the instructor. Hand picked. The most promising youth of the system. On the day we thought we would join the Emperor's Space Marines, were were questioned and chosen for more. We were called in when everyone else failed. We may not be very many in number but our efficacy was quite impressive. Most other Chapters did not know of our existence,the records did show a few of our accomplishments but there were never many details and most of the information was redacted. Our mission was to find traitors and eliminate them but also to find errors in the thoughts of other Chapters and assure that the heretics are weeded out.

Most of us had tried to join various Chapters but before we even made it to the recruitment process, we were snatched up by the Instructor. The Emperor told him who to choose and we were told the training would be rigorous, our work would be Holy work and that, if we refused, then we would be refusing the Emperor's will. I only know of two people who have refused. They were called traitors. Everyone knows what happens to traitors.

Most of us were between 16 and 24, strong, physically fit, smart and we have very strong faith in the God Emperor. As always, this part of the day went as planned. We integrated the lecture, asked no questions and prayed for the God Emperor's light to lead us in the fight against chaos that is brought on by humans and traitors. This particular day was interesting as we learned of the History of Terra and the actions of the servants of the Emperor and priests that had come before us. From what we were told, the greatest failure of the servants of the Emperor came almost immediately after the Horus Heresey. Apparently, the servants had thought up of a way to eliminate the greatest threat to the psychic power that the Emperor still had, even as his body decayed on the thrown. They decided to force Psykers to self sacrifice in order to keep the Emperors power over chaos and the warp but it was never proven that these Psyker's sacrifices were indeed necessary to feed the Emperor. Hundreds of millions of psykers were sacrificed without confirmation of the need for their death. Although we were not meant to react emotionally to any teachings that we underwent, the air was filled with a feeling on indignation and uncertainty. No one said anything and we all calmed ourselves and kept our breathing at the rhythm as our fellow recruits. We tried to integrate this information as truth. Suddenly, one of our own stood. We all turned, slightly alarmed at why he would break rank and he spoke.

"With all due respect, sir. All my life, I was taught that the sacrifice of these psykers were the Emperor's will. Most psykers welcomed this duty, which was their own death, the ultimate sacrifice. Why would they not? Is that not what we are taught? Every morning, we answer your call. You, yourself ask: What is death" It is your duty!! The psykers, it is their duty to keep the Emperor alive, is it not? "

"What you were taught, all your life, was a myth, tinted by chaos.. What I tell you know, this is the Enlightened Truth. Name one piece of evidence, in the scriptures, that states that this is false. That this is made up and I will be ready to listen. You cannot refute the fact that this is what happened. Our goal is to put a stop to this useless sacrifice and to save these poor psykers from the chaos gods' will. The Emperor tells us so. Do you defy the Emperor's will? We will gladly grant you Mercy if you do."

The recruit looked down shamefully and apologized for voicing his thoughts. He then knelt and prayed for forgiveness but we all knew what came next...Well, I knew. I checked my emotion and rejoined my team in body and mind, hoping the instructor had not noticed. I could do better, I was sure of it.  We are a team, get back in the fold, I told myself.

We listened to the Instructor, no more questions were asked, not thoughts were shared. We dutifully repeated and prayer to the Emperor before the instructor told us, that tomorrow,we would get our weapons tomorrow.

We were confined to quarters for the night. I took my armour off and quickly washed, then I lay flat on my back and waited for the lights to close. Once they did, the now familiar sound of static was heard through the speakers in the building. The voice counted down and soon, I was asleep. I knew the morning would come and that my comrade would would be gone.It is the Emperor's will. The voice reached one and I was still thinking...I need to fall asleep quickly. There isn't much time. The crystal clear sound of a bell rang trough the building and I drifted off.

The next morning came quickly. I woke and stood at attention. Took a breath, trying to find the appropriate rhythm and got ready for the day. I quickly got dressed, ate and donned my armour, I quickly made the bed. We never slept under the covers because it took too much time to make the bed to perfection. I stood at attention when the instructor came in for inspection. I marched to the hallway and waited staring at the wall straight across from me.

As we stood outside our rooms waiting for the Instructors to conduct inspection, we listened to morning prayer and  answered the call. In my peripheral vision, I saw something quite unexpected, my neighbour, the one who had dared speak yesterday during lecture, was standing at attention. This was the first time someone had gone against the Emperor's will and was still present the next day. I almost forgot to answer when it was time. I gave myself a mental shake and answered just as the instructor was walking past me. Most of us did not know each other but we were all connected. It is an odd feeling to be one of the many but one slowly gets used to it. Sometimes it felt like I was one of the many and at times, I felt like we were one. My brothers and I have been training for so long, it was second nature. From the corner of my eye, I saw Corey, standing, just like me, cool calm and collected but in my mind, I could hear his thought process. It was nothing like his calm stoic exterior.I was likely imagining things, or projecting how I would have felt. When he closed his eyes for a second too long, I saw images and heard him plead to me. I shuffled inside my boots, unseen, how they had thought us to do so our legs wouldn't fall asleep and recited my answer to Instructor Ziad like everyone in the corridor. We had been told to report anything, absolutely anything out of the ordinary but this, this was not the first time. I wondered if anyone else had this experience or if all the traitors decided to speak to me in their minds. This time. I said nothing and marched behind Corey toward the training area, my mind kept being flooded with images and words that could hardly reach me.

I concentrated on my breathing, trying to stay on the fold but I also focused on the words more than the images. The images were fuzzy and too fast but I got the jist of it. I needed to hear his words. I only caught one sentence before Ziad stood before me and asked me, only me:

What is death?

It is your duty

What is your duty ?

To serve the Emperor's will!!

When Ziad walked away, there were no more images or words. I snuck a peak at Corey. He was staring me in the eye. I quickly looked away before the Instructor announced over his shoulder that we would be getting our personal weapons after a battle to the death. Corey stepped forward. Without a look or a single word, I felt myself move forward. I was not in control of my own body. I had volunteered to die or to kill my friend. A very short lived look of surprise crossed Ziad's face, my own surprise showed by the widening of my pupils but nothing less. It was too late, I had already volunteered. Ziad recovered.

"Psykers!" he spoke loudly to everyone  standing at attention. They will get in your head and make you do things you do not want to do, speak words and thoughts that you do not believe. If you do not have the mental fortitude to block them out, you will not survive to enforce the Emperor's will! Before we proceed with this battle, I will make sure that none of you have been influenced by anyone but the will of the Emperor. Back in line Vek and Roth!'

We both answered: "Yes Sir!" and stepped back into line. I couldn't help wonder why this time, there was any reason to question why we would volunteer. I did not know why I stepped forward, maybe it was the Emperor's design or something completely different but normally, Ziad did not care. He and just let whoever volunteered into battle. This was odd.

I listened but every word he spoke, every sentence, I asked why? This was not good, I was going to fail as a Loyalist. I needed to get back into the fold and believe. Focus, I told myself, as Ziad turned on Roth.

"Who made you speak yesterday? Were those your words or is there a traitor within our ranks?"

Roth answered:" The words just fell out of my mouth Sir. I cannot tell you whence they came from..."

Ziad watched him for what seemed like forever and answered. He took out a device from his pocket and scanned the mind of the soldier standing before him. He looked down and replied, " Your mind is weak Roth, you will be punished but the Emperor refuses to see your bloodshed on this day. It is his will that you will live. There will be a battle but not to the death. You will report to the evaluation room after the battle."

He then walked past us while reciting morning prayer, scanning us, one at a time. More Instructors came to do the same for the rest of the unit. By the time we were done with prayer, the Instructors were satisfied with the results. A simple skills battle would take place.

"Vek! Roth! Ready?! Fight!", Ziad exclaimed. We both chose a sword and as we stood on either side of the arena, we cried in unison: " Verum Videre!!"

The other recruits cheered as we both leapt into the air and our swords clanged together. These matches were always quite long because we could predict each other's moves. We also needed to show restraint as the goal was not to kill our opponent. We were also trying to learn to use muscle memory and clear our minds in battle. At first, no one landed much of a blow but eventually, as I concentrated on my breathing only, I started moving more naturally and Roth seemed to struggle more as he tried to predict my other moves. My mind was blank and I fought. I felt as if I was watching myself from Roth's point of view, could practically hear his thoughts and my body knew when and where to strike. I landed a blow to the chest and pushed him to the ground and knelt over him with the tip of my sword at his throat.

The instructor called the win and smiled.I stood and extended a hand to Roth and helped him up. Ziad frowned  and ordered us to the Great Hall for morning lecture. Roth broke rank and reported to the Evaluation Room.

We did not see Roth for 5 days. After the battle, I was called to the Instructor's office. He asked me what had compelled me to volunteer for the battle, that I could tell him anything I had on my mind and none of it would be held against me. I looked at Ziad and said:

"Sir, I cannot tell you why I volunteered. I felt myself step forward but I can understand my subconscious motivations. It is entirely possible that I wanted to prove myself to you and all the recruits, that I could deliver mercy to any heretic, whether or not they were my brother or some stranger, more skilled than I or not." The words came out of me like someone else was speaking them. If he found I was weak of mind, then both Roth and I would be punished. Perhaps this was a test. I was unsure but, for some reason, I felt as though, perhaps Ziad himself was telling me what to say.

Ziad seemed satisfied. "You are to report to the training to received your weapons, no inquiry will be necessary."

"Thank you, sir." I replied.

Five days later, Roth returned, his features were drawn and his eyes were distant, like those of the Marines from Delta Squad. He would likely not speak his mind again, fall into the fold.

Once training was over, we were sent to a full physical and psychological evaluation. We were to find out which squad we would be joining. Everyone wanted to be Echo or Foxtrot but only a select few would skip the line men or Alpha squad. Assumptions were made that Roth would be Delta squad. He never was the same.

Physical examinations always went well, everyone would pass. Psychological examinations took place after the physical one but no one knew what would place a Marine into which squad and there was no recollection of the examination. We all accepted our ranks with pride. It is an honour to serve the Emperor, no matter what squad we were selected to join.

I was selected for Echo squad and so was Roth and another Marine named Somek, which was a surprise to all the recruits. We did not voice our reaction to anyone's placement but accepted our orders. Somek, Roth and I were then called to our respective Squads.The other members of echo squad did not much like us. In our smaller unit, Somek and I were usually sent together with older, more experienced seekers. Roth would be on a unit with more senior Seekers. Perhaps because of the incident during training. Although they were willing to give him a chance, perhaps they felt he was more volatile then we were. During down time, the three of us would stay together and laugh an joke but everyone stayed away from us...we were like the outcasts. On a mission, we were precious, people to be protected.We just theorized that if was jealousy. If we had to fight, everyone else was pretty much dead and that seemed to anger them. They saw us as spoiled and favoured Marines. It was luck that we had become seekers, it was rare to have a mutation which gave this gift, we did not ask for this, it was the Emperor's will.

Perhaps we were a little spoiled for we did get the protection detail but it was not like we did not know how to fight. We were strong fighters and encourage to practice battle without sing our minds as weapons but we also had that extra training, where we had to train our minds to control other people's thoughts. All members of the Verum Illuminate were trained to resist a certain amount of Psyker probing, some were successful and some were less. While the other squadrons were out in the action most of the time, we would only go on certain missions and we needed to stay at the top of our abilities. Those of us who could not maintain the highest standards in our abilities were demoted to line men, at best. We were trained by the Chapter Master himself. Roth was always the best at resisting our combined mental attacks. Perhaps it was his time spent in reconditioning after his lapse of judgement during training but his mental resilience was impressive. Once, I was made to cluck like a chicken...the memory is painful. I became stronger after that sad episode. Somek was actually reduced to tears once when Roth and I teamed up on the offensive. He was not demoted but also reconditioned in order to increase his mental fortitude...he barked like a dog once after that but there were no other incidents.

Finally, Roth and I were both called on a mission to retrieve a dangerous psyker from a planet called  Zephyr. We were very exited about our very first mission, then we found out that there would be two more, senior Seekers coming with us. Either it was a test or our first mission was very high stakes...high enough that four Seekers were necessary on Echo squad.

We went through our check list and had a briefing session with Ziad who would be mission leader. He informed us of our mission. We were to apprehend and secure a very strong psyker who had eluded capture by multiple Chapters of Marines. We were called upon because of the special qualities that echo team possessed. The other heretics that had helped him escape were of no importance and were to be eliminated on sight but Vaughn was a capture and return to Base mission. We were informed that if we came into contact with any other Imperial forces,whether it be Sisters of Battle or orders were to be kept secret. We would do as we were told. This was a very high stakes mission and failure was not an option.

When we left the briefing room, we prepared for the trip to Zephyr. We encountered Somek before we left, he was disappointed to be left behind. he wanted to fight, be on the field, do some good but we were the lucky ones, according to him, off to serve the Emperor's will while he stayed here, on Stygian, guarding a building. We clapped him on the back on the way out. I barked at him and he clucked at me...we would never live it down.

Aboard the ship, we found our quarters where we left our personal items. Then we went to the armory, to have a look around. We made sure our weapons were cleaned and well oiled and put our personal power armours and other weapons in their designated areas. We then headed to the Captain's office for a debrief.

The objective was to capture the witch Vaughn alive and get him back to the Dara Seans. The other heretics that were with them should be destroyed as per the Emperor's will. We were heading for Zyphrus, a planet which held a small population of humans. The climate was temperate, there would be forests and Mountains, oceans...similar to Holy Terra but it was very turbulent there because of frequent earth quakes. We would likely find our target on the western hemisphere. In and out as quickly and as quietly as possible. If we were to have contact with the locals, we do not disclose the mission and turn them away. If any other Chapter or group are present, we should default to protocol and a leader will be determined among the seekers, at that time.

Written by: Mia Pallas