A Favour Granted

A bloodied Astartes hung from chains in the centre of a cell. His feet did not touch the ground. His chin rested upon his chest as his shoulders rose and dropped with every audible breath. Blood and sweat dripped from his body, creating a gentle stream that ran into the steel floor and seeped into the aptly placed drain. His bronze middle was scared by blades and other weapons. Across his naked torso, arms, and legs were sickly purple-green-coloured bruises created from being hit repeatedly.

The Astartes' body would mend, but the Aasvogel would break it again and again until the transhuman broke. When his sanity was gone and his will to live was erased, when he finally admitted that he and his brothers were abominations, they would dismember him and leave him to bleed out. There was no mercy for the taint upon the purity of the Emperor's sons.

Captain Jhinaar strode into the room and entered a code on a keypad beside the cell. He was dressed in full regalia but left his helmet and gauntlets behind. He wanted nothing more than to inflict pain on the blasphemous Astartes. The Captain watched as Sergeant Maalik struck the bound marine in the head with his bare hands. Spittle and sweat sprayed from the captive’s mouth as the chains that bound him rattled. The transhuman made an oof sound. His head lulled back onto his chest. He did not resist, nor did he speak or try to defend himself. Most of the abominations the Aasvogels captured were keen on monologuing and calling the Aasvogels traitors or puritans. Some even called them heretics, but they knew better. All captives were angry, swearing vengeance or boastful that they could not be purged because of their superiority, but they were wrong. This Astartes was calm, accepting his beating. Jhinaar felt a sense of unease.

‘Enough,’ barked the Captain as he pulled the cell door open and strode inside. Maalik immediately complied and stepped three paces to the left of the hanging abomination. Jhinaar would make the heretic talk and punish him for his twisted existence. Sergeant Maalik watched the Captain’s approach in silence while the Space Marine remained unflustered.

Slowly, the Captain of the fourth company crept forward, studying the man. He glanced at the armour displayed on the wall outside the cell—yellow and orange with a golden Aquila chest plate. He had heard of a failed raid on the Champions of Mortis' flagship. The traitors from that ship had attempted to steal the progenoid glands of the Chapter. This meant two things: not only were these marines traitors, but they were traitors who intended to meddle with the purity of their gene seed. Rage at the thought threatened to overtake Jhinaar, but the circumstances of this traitor's capture demanded that he be kept alive for the moment.

‘You are an affront to the Imperium. You mock Him with an Aquila on your armour, yet you do not serve Him. How can you? You are an aberration! You scheme and plot to steal gene seed? You are an affront to the Emperor!’ exclaimed Maalik. He spat on the hanging Astartes' chest. His acid saliva sizzled, and his skin disappeared, but soon it began mending itself.

The Astartes raised his head and ignored the Sergeant, turning his attention to Captain Jhinaar. His chocolate-coloured eyes met the fierce Captain’s gaze, and he spoke, ‘I am aware,’ he looked carefully at Jhinaar and added, ‘Captain. I deserve to be here, and you are within your rights to torture and kill me. I would kill myself if I didn’t have an important mission.’

‘You will not see that mission to the end, traitor, but an end you shall see. It will not be one of mercy, but instead, you will suffer,’ exclaimed Maalik.

Jhinaar kept his eyes locked on the Astartes. What he saw in them disturbed him, but he did not look away. He saw a warrior of both truth and faith. He saw a man willing to die for a cause- his cause, which bothered him most.

‘Report,’ demanded Jhinaar. He stared at the captive, his eyes hard. Sergeant Maalik began speaking.

‘We found this one alone. He was fleeing the Defiant, sir— a cousin ship of the Champions of Mortis…'

'Yes, I know,' answered Jhinaar with a slight note of annoyance.

'He snuck onboard…’ the sergeant cleared his throat. Jhinaar’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as eyes slowly moved to face his sergeant.

‘Continue,’ he said, with an edge in his voice and a threat in his eye.

‘Sir…he boarded the Carrion Hunter undetected, but only for an hour, at most, sir.’

Jhinaar took a slow breath. Sergeant Maalik was nervous. He knew what had happened when another abomination had been captured too easily. The Captain was furious that this had happened on board the Carrion Hunter but would not let the captive know. His gaze returned to that of the traitorous Astartes.

‘How?’

‘We’re not su—’

‘Not you!’ roared Jhinaar. The room fell silent; even the quiet hum of the ventilation seemed to silence for a second but caught itself. The chains Astartes did not move until Captain Jhinaar stepped so close to his captive that he could almost taste the sweat, saliva and blood dripping off him. The captive raised his head to look the captain in the eye.

‘It’s what we were trained to do. Some of us can only be seen if we wish to be seen.’

‘Heretics!’

‘Yes, I know,' answered the transhuman in a disappointed tone. "We have been tainted since the moment we were recruited, but we didn't know. My name is Corey Richter, Foxtrot Squad, Verum Illuminate, and I need your help.’

‘Ha!’ exclaimed Maalik incredulously.

‘Silence,’ growled Jhinaar. Maalik straightened his back and remained silent.

‘I want the traitors among the Verum Illuminate to be purged just as badly as you do, which is why I boarded your ship. I know of you, and the Chapter Master ensured we knew to steer clear of the Aasvogels. When I saw your ship, I knew you could help,’ finished Richter. Jhinaar did not respond, which prompted the captive to continue. ‘I am aware of my fate, Captain. My sacrifice will lead to a massive blow to the heretics amongst the Verum Illuminate. The remaining loyalists are prepared to die to destroy them, and so am I.’

Jhinaar raised an eyebrow, disbelieving the veracity of this traitor’s claim.

‘They are all tainted. Your Chapter will be hunted and purged, and you along with them.’

+++

Captain Jhinaar returned to Corey Richter’s cell one last time but did not enter. Richter hung from his bindings, his features grave as if focusing on something. His mouth worked as he muttered a prayer that a heretic should not know, let alone speak without terrible physical pain.

Jhinaar grunted and turned his back. His boots clanged on the steel floor of the Carrion Hunter as he donned his helmet. Walking off the ramp of the ship with a 15 Astartes team, he felt a measure of concern. What if it was a trap? What if the name or rank of the captive was a code word? Why would the Verum Illuminate bother with one single Astartes?

He would find out shortly. Jhinaar left the captive in the hands of the crew and serfs. He took a deep breath and marched onto the ground.

The planet was a jungle world with a particular topography. At first, the Verum Illuminate had suggested a transfer from one ship to the other, but Jhinaar would be damned if traitors were to board his ship. Instead, he suggested the world of Nyrun. The area where they landed and would meet was flat, surrounded by low hills, which was excellent for an ambush.

Today would be a momentous day, he thought, as he gazed at the hilltops. Perfect. The heretical mutants, the Verum Illuminate, would receive such a blow that they would not recover. The fate of the captive was sealed. Whether he spoke the truth about his Chapter of traitors or he lied and planned an ambush, the Aasvogels would be ready. Lies have a basis in truth, and he had analysed the captive’s words and prepared for all possible outcomes.

Jhinaar blink-clicked open a vox link and relayed his orders, ‘I want five covering the landing area, twelve up in the hills, myself and Chief Librarian Alassaane will walk Maalik over to the heretics.' Maalik was wearing the captive's armour and had the power sword sheathed. He also had a bolter mag locked to his right thigh. The enemy would see one of their own, but they would be deceived. 'Engage when ordered.’ Jhinaar clicked the vox link closed without waiting for a response. More than anything, the captain wanted to destroy the head of the chapter, deal a significant blow, and, if possible, take the ship. The Aasvogel would then interrogate the crew and purge the whole organisation. If everything went as planned, he would accomplish a remarkable feat today. If not, at least he would dwindle down the numbers and find another route to exterminate the abominations.

‘Incoming,’ said Maalik as his auspex picked up on the cloaked vessel. The Captain of the fourth scanned the surroundings, but his auspex reported nothing.

‘And so it begins,’ replied the captain. The Librarian reached out with his psyker senses, and so the plan of the traitorous captain fell seamlessly into place.

‘They are going around, uncloaked now. I will send the coordinates. There is a transmission, sir.' Maalik ambled in front of the Captain and Librarian toward the rendezvous coordinates. The captain itched for a battle but had to appear friendly to not arouse the heretics' suspicions. 'They are requesting confirmation codes. Permission to enter the code of the traitor Astartes?’ asked Maalik.

‘Granted,’ grunted the captain as he turned to watch a yellow and orange escort ship prepare to land near their vessel. He then clicked open his vox-link and said, ‘Contact. Standby.’

As the ship landed. The engines idled, and the ramp dropped, but no one and nothing came out. Jhinaars’ gaze did not leave the ramp as he squinted in an effort to see a shadow or some sort of movement. He strained his ears to hear any sound confirming the enemy was disembarking. Even his auspex showed no movement. Suddenly, he heard the metallic sound of a gauntlet rhythmically tapping out numbers on armour. Maalik tapped one gauntlet finger on his armour, counting out the Marines leaving the ship. A fury not like anything else he had ever felt crashed upon Jhinaar. The traitor had been truthful so far…

With a gauntleted hand, the captain reached for Maalik’s left shoulder. He did not use the link to relay his order.

‘Maalik, transmit approximate coordinates of the targets.’

‘Sir,’ came the reply confirming the transmission would take place.

Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen…

Three uncloaked marines clad in identical uniforms finally exited the ship. One walked in front of the other two. If the traitor was truthful upon this point also, the frontman would be a potent psyker. There was no way of knowing if this was a true traitor, as Richter had called them, or one of the “vigilante” marines. Behind him, to his left, would be the Captain or highest-ranking member of the expedition. The Marine on his right was security, which was laughable if one did not know of the seventeen other Marines circling the trio.

Still furious, Jhinaar breathed deeply, willing his rageful hearts to slow to a relaxed pace. He walked about halfway to meet the trio when a sense of confusion tickled at the back of Jhinaar’s mind.

Throne, they know, he thought but forced himself to relax. They did not read thoughts. The traitor had told him this much was true. What they did was alter a person’s senses. Jhinaar gave himself a mental shake. What he was feeling was a consequence of a silent battle between psykers. Alassaane would negate the enemy’s camouflage. The resulting efforts on the part of both psykers caused the dread and confusion that Jhinaar felt.

If he would keep the element of surprise, the attack had to begin now. The first target would be the psyker. Making the sign of the Aquila with his gauntleted hands, Jhinaar shouted, ‘For the Emperor!’ as the hidden Aasvogels rained a storm of bolts on the invisible enemy. Jhinaar smiled as he loosened his own weapon and fired at the trio of heretics.

The battle was short after Jhinaar placed a bolt round into the leading Verum Illuminate’s helmet, blowing his head off. Even though the heretics circled the trio, Maalik had ensured the marines that lay in ambush had every single one of the Verum Illuminate in their sights. When the first shot rained down upon the marines, Sergeant Maalik took a bolt to the shoulder. He fell hard to the ground but continued firing. He started to stand.

‘Stay down, Maalik,’ ordered Jhinaar, ‘it’s the only way we’ll know which one you are. Lay cover fire from your position.’

‘Understood, replied Maaik. As the fury of the Emperor rained down upon the Verum Illuminate, Jhinaar focused on the highest-ranking officer and his security. He saw them run to their escort ship, and they suddenly disappeared.

‘Frak,’ exclaimed Jhinaar. Calculating the fastest path to escape, Jhinaar shot blindly. Suddenly, the ramp closed, and the ship disappeared. The only sign of it was the turbulent winds in the grass below. Checking his auspex, it was as though there had never been a ship there at all. Over the cacophony of battle, Jhinaar clicked open a vox-link, ‘Did anyone tag the ship?’

‘Yes, sir!’

‘Excellent, wipe the abominations from the surface of this planet. We will handle the others once we are one here.’

‘Understood.’

+++

Returning to the cell aboard the Carrion Hunter, Jhinaar watched the bound Marine.

‘Your service to the Emperor is duly noted. Your mission was successful.’

Richter looked up at the Captain of the fourth company of the Aasvogel and nodded respectfully.

‘I still—’

‘Yes, I know,’ replied Richter.

‘I will grant you a favour. A swift death.’

‘Thank you,’ said Richter. With that, Jhinaar unsheathed his sword and, with one fell swoop, beheaded Corey Richter, Foxtrot Squad, Verum Illuminate. Jhinaar turned his back on the corpse and opened a link, ‘Search the ship, make sure we don’t have any more stowaways. Plot a course to purge the surviving Verum Illuminate.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Ave Imperator!’

## Notes

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