Slaughter of Verlex

*"The mission was to get here and find out what happened to the scientists. Now we know and our objectives have changed: Eliminate this thing, no matter the costs. For humanity, for the shadow templars!"*

-Captain Carlitz Hemmen, leader of the mission to Verlex-

## Slaughter of Verlex

The "hunter" acted like a spider, the station it inhabited its web

### Location

Verlex system, Unknown Biluan abandoned base

## Forces

### Attacking forces

200 members of the Shadow Templars mercenary company27 Ahadi survivors

## Casualties

### Defender casualties

Hunter believed dead after destruction of the base

### Invader casualties

All but one Ahadi and 184 members of the Shadow Templars

Right after the complete destruction of the Biluan mind  and the death of the "living" planet of Voice, all Biluan drones melted down, unable to keep living without their communal conscience. The worlds they had once infested however, and the bases and fleets they had built, remained, all easy pickings for surrounding realms and empire seeking to expand and benefit from the end of the Biluan threat.

The Verlex system, the heart of the "empire" of the now extinct Biluan Mind, was rich in abandoned infrastructure and mineral deposits, a golden mine for everyone, from explorers and scientists, to adventurers and pirates. Commonwealth  reports speak of even a few skirmishes happening in this space, as different bands from several nations fought for control of possible spoils.

Amongst these possible treasures was a strange, immense installation built several decades before by the drones of the mind. First discovered by Task Force Manticore, nobody knew of the reason for the base's construction, or why it had been abandoned by the Mind. They did not know either if it was already finished or half built, only that the mind seemed no longer concerned with it. Without time to properly explore the strange construction, Manticore left the system and the base alone, unaware of what lurked in the shadows of the miles-wide installation.

Others though, bolder or more desperate, did send missions to this base, many feeling sure that there had to be something of value within its walls. Even when these missions did not return, more and more tried their luck, from the Udkavongo to the Ahadi  and a number of Yaanari  corsairs. Not ones to let a secret go unsolved, important and wealthy xeno researchers and private investors in the Commonwealth also organized an expedition to the base. Well armed, it was thought they would not fail where others had. Still, as the reports stopped coming, worries grew and a rescue mission was organized, fearing the worst for the scientists and guards sent to the Biluan base.

## A strange rescue force

Knowing that the Commonwealth  would not send state military forces in a private, nearly-illegal matter, the investors behind the expeditions turned their sights to some of the then-idle mercenary companies. Experienced, well trained and not so expensive now due to the lack of work, they were the perfect force to investigate the mystery in Verlex.

As other companies were to busy, away or not equiped to deal with such a mission, the investors turned to the Shadow Templars. While infamous for their zeal and the destruction they left on their wake, they were still well-trained and used to fights within abandoned vessels, bases and fortresses. While the investors only wanted to hire a team of 50, Captain Carlitz Hemmen, the leader of the rescue mission, prefered to not take any chances, instead bringing a force of 200, half of them new recruits he wished to test.

Using several, unnamed ships as transports, this force left the Commonwealth's frontier to Verlex, reaching the Biluan base in less than a month. Hope was regained as a few, small life signals were detected within the base. Still, captain Carlitz told his men to prepare for battle, saying that the signals could come from pirates instead of scientists. In the end, he was right about fearing a menace but wrong about its threat level.

## Verlex base

*"If you see this, turn back and leave this place. Nothing can stop it, nothing can kill it. Just run and bombard it until there is not a single scrap left of this place"*

-writting on one of the walls at the base's entrance rooms-

### From all sides at once

The 200 Shadow Templars did not attack like a single force. Instead, the captain dividied his forces into four teams, all equiped for battle in and out of the base. Coming from different directions, they quickly entered the huge base, a laberynth of corridors which, aside from several scratches and failing lights, were still in good condition. To the surprise of many, the systems which fed oxygen to the base still worked, as did the water supply.

Immediately, all soldiers went into high alert, then higher still as they found the first of the skeletons which littered the heart of Verlex base. None were Biluan. Instead, the medics of the different squads recognized the bone structure of Udkavongo, Ahadi  and a couple of long and shattered Yaanari  corpses. Analyzing the cuts and holes in the bone, it was clear to the medics that they had all died by the same, huge cutting weapons, all sharp and strong enough to even cut an Udkavongo in two.

Also, the flesh from their corpses had been eaten, leaving no a trace of flesh or hair. Immediately, Carlitz told his men to prepare their heavy weapons and anti-armour grenades. It seemed their foe was going to be a bit tougher than they had expected at first.

### Survivors

Suddenly, a squad from the North of the base gave its report, saying that they had actually found survivors. These were not the human  and Aramathi  sent by the Templar's masters, but 27 half-starved and completely terrified Ahadi from the Ahadi Conglomerate. Belonging to the "Division of recovery of abandoned material and resources", they had come to the base in seek of possible resources as well, believing that the risks of the missions were completely outweighted by the chances of recovering a good amount of materials and precious resources.

Of the nearly 100 Ahadi who had been sent, only those 27 still lived, many showing wounds and so weak they needed help just to move around. When asked about who had done this to them, the answer was the same for all 27 survivors: The Hunter. A metallic monstruosity crafted to resemble an insect of scythe-like arms and the lower body of a snake, it had hunted the expedition down across the corridors, always coming from the shadows and killing a scoreof Ahadi  before falling back again to eat. What this creature was was a mystery for the survivors, yet some propsed the theory that it had been an experiment of the Biluans before their destruction, made to fight the enemies of the mind and fuel itself with their flesh.

### First attack

As the survivors told their story, the hunter of Verlex made its first appearance. Bursting from the floor below the templar's feet, it yanked two soldiers out from the floor, stabbing them through with its arm-blades while its jaws ripped off the head of a third. Its body resembling silver and with a single, glowing green eye, it was a creature from nightmares. Its appearance made the templar recruits pause, a fatal mistake which ended their lives as the creature sliced its way across the survivors, severing members and crushing bodies with its long, metallic tail with ease.

Hearing the screams and cries of their fellow templars, other squads rushed to kill the beast, yet their shots only managed to bounce or scratch the creature's hard hide before it dissapeared back into the floor. Quickly, several members threw their grenade through the hole, the explosions making the walls around them shiver for a moment before silence fell once more in the base.

If the templars thought they had managed to kill the beast, they would soon realize their mistake as it appeared nearly half a mile away from the spot of its first attack. Hiding in the high ceilings, the creature waited until a squad came within reach before landing on them its weight and blades making short work of the surprised soldiers. By the time reinforcements arrived one minute later, the bodies were all gone, taken by the creature.

### Falling back

Quickly realizing he was facing a dangerous beast on its own terrain, Captain Carlitz ordered his troops to fall back to the base's entrance and fortify there. Just as he said that however, the base's systems began to malfunction. Heavy gates which had previously opened without trouble now remained stuck. One of the ships which had taken the soldiers to the base was suddenly ivaded by the beast, who killed the vessel's entire crew, forcing the rest to flee.

A retreat now would be a slow and costly affair, with squads being slaughtered one by one in their issolated positions. Any other regiment or force would have felt like all was lost, but not the Shadow Templars. Feeling like this was going to be their ultimate test, they rallied towards the nearby core of the base, a position they could fortify well as they waited for their foe to come.

Thinking there was no hope, the Ahadi survivors tried to make a run to the exits and get rescued by the nearby ships. All signal with them was lost not long after, the last one coming from just a few feet from the exit doors.

### Three days in hell

The duel between the survivors of the Shadow Templars and the Hunter was one of patience, ambushes and counter ambushes. Both sides seemed to learn from the other, adapting new tactics while they waited for the chance to strike. Seeing that the creature seemed to somehow repair its wounds after engagements, the captain headed several expeditions, the fight no longer a mission, but a personal fight between Carlitz and the monster instead.

Three long days went by, all sleepless for the Shadow Templars and the crews of the ships which circled the base. As a way to get the templars out of their hiding holes, the Hunter began to capture soldiers alive, wounding them and leaving them bleeding from where the others could see them so the soldiers would leave the fortifications and be easy prey. After losing to many men with these tactics, Carlitz ordered his men to shoot all "baits" on sight, no longer willing to keep up dancing to the hunter's tune.

With only a handful of men left and the creature still alive, Carlitz finally realized there was only one thing to be done. Ordering his troops to fall back, he left the base to act as bait for the creature. Seeing him as the leader of the Templars, the Hunter chased right after, allowing the suvivors to board the ships. In their way to the exit, and during the stay in the base, the Templars had already installed several explosive charges in key points of the base's superstructure. Once the ships were far away enough, captain Carlitz himself ordered the charges to be detonated, just as the hunter caught up to him.

One instant later, the base was no more. Searching through the remains, the templars were able to find some remains of the bodies of their squadmates, but no sight of Captain Carlitz, or the Hunter itself.