The Imperium's Frontier: Imperium Space Station

The space station's landing pad was pitch black. Every light, landing indicator, and even the status displays on the airlocks had been extinguished. There was no sound at all, only a bone-chilling silence.

It felt like a region of space beyond the reach of The Emperor's holy Astronomican, where everything was shrouded in a cold, dead stillness, floating in the void.

Gradually, however, a flicker of light began to illuminate this dark world, shifting from faint blue glows into a scorching beam as bright as the sun.

A Thunderhawk Gunship drifted slowly into the landing bay from the exit. Its vector thrusters spat fire, lighting up the darkness, and with a low rumble, the engines shifted downward, gently settling the craft onto the deck.

The gunship's ramp slammed open, and a massive figure stepped out, followed by a second. Four Deathwatch Astartes emerged, their armor painted black, though they still wore the helmets of their respective Chapters. Bright floodlights mounted on their gear swept across the bay, instantly banishing the remaining shadows.

The Astartes stood guard with bolters and melee weapons drawn, surrounding the Thunder deck. Vito stepped out from the cabin, his face obscured by a sealed helmet; every step of his magnetic boots sent ripples of fluorescent sparks across the floor.

The Inquisitor stepped off the Thunderhawk and scanned his surroundings. It was clear that the station's gravity and life-support systems had been severed or sabotaged.

Vito gave a slight nod to Ragnar. The Space Wolf, wielding a Chainaxe, strode toward a partially open internal bulkhead. Ragnar tore the door aside, tossed the heavy slab aside to drift into the void, and charged into the corridor, his blue ocular lenses scanning the area.

"All clear, brothers," he said over the vox-link, taking two more steps inside. The rest of the party followed him in.

The Space Marines moved down the corridor, keeping Vito in the center, their massive forms acting like walls against any potential firing lines. Their heavy footsteps echoed through the dead silence of the station; aside from the vibration of their iron boots, there was no sound at all. It felt as though the place had been abandoned for ages.

Bell passed a notice board plastered with station announcements. "It looks like this place was busy—at least, until we arrived."

"A station of this size usually carries hundreds of crew. Even if they were attacked, we should have seen at least one body," Lancelot said, pushing aside a shattered desk that had been blocking their path. The debris drifted gently against the wall before floating off in another direction.

"I agree with him, Vito. There was clearly a firefight here." Ragnar turned his head, using his helmet's floodlight to illuminate the wall, which was clearly marked with several bullet holes.

Vito stopped, and the four Space Marines halted as well, standing behind and beside him to examine the wall.

"Solid-slug weapons, not bolters," Lancelot concluded quickly. Olaf tilted his head, looking toward the side of the corridor. "Someone was running and firing here. Perhaps the guards trying to fight off intruders?" "If so, neither side would have minded dying alongside their enemy."

Ragnar's voice echoed from the other end. The group followed the sound, and before they even reached the spot, they saw a massive breach in the bulkhead. The entire corridor had been torn open, exposing the station directly to the vacuum of space.

Vito crouched down, running a finger over the debris on the bulkhead, and examined the powder on his glove.

"Rocket fire. Fired in haste and very unwisely. I suspect many didn't die from being sucked into space, but from the blast itself."

"But we haven't seen any bodies. Do you think the intruders took them? Or was it intentional?" Olaf asked, puzzled. "But what kind of enemy would do that? The twisted, blood-loving Aeldari?"

"No, those perverts prefer the living, not corpses," Ragnar said, patting the bulkhead. "And we haven't seen any signs of Aeldari weaponry. Their flashy gear usually leaves distinct traces."

"You're right, Ragnar. Not the Aeldari." Vito stood up, but Olaf remained confused. "I can't think of any enemy that would do this, Inquisitor. Besides, what value does this station have to warrant such an elaborate intrusion?"

"I don't know, but I suspect we can find the answer in the command tower," Vito said, leading the way into the dark corridor, the four Space Marines following close behind.

They didn't have much trouble finding the command tower. All Imperial space stations were built to a standard template; no matter how different they looked on the outside, the internal structure was largely the same. Once you had been to one, you had a general idea of the rest.

Vito and the four Deathwatch members had visited many such stations, though many of those experiences had been unpleasant, requiring significant time spent shooting and hacking their way through.

This time, however, it was much easier. They reached the command tower without incident. It was empty, with a giant, semi-circular glass wall at the front. An Imperial Aquila hung from the dome, and beneath the high ceiling stood countless pieces of Adeptus Mechanicus equipment.

Like much of the station, this area was scarred by conflict. Vito walked over to the station commander's chair; a bullet hole marred the backrest, and the leather seat was stained with dried blood.

Furthermore, almost the entire control console had been sabotaged. The perpetrators had used firearms and blunt objects to crudely smash the dials. Every instrument and every augur array had been destroyed.

"Bell, check if there's any surviving data. I suspect these idiots don't understand the principles of machine operation." Vito had barely finished speaking before Bell began to do exactly that.

Using the multi-tool on his arm, he cut open a data terminal and, after some fumbling, pulled out a black hard drive. "Clearly, these idiots thought destroying the dials would destroy the data. All heretics are the same."

"Whoa, don't let the Adeptus Mechanicus hear you say that, or those guys will have a fit," Ragnar laughed, watching as Bell plugged the drive into an interface. The Ultramarine stood up, scanning the data within his helmet.

"This station detected an omen a month ago. According to the data, there were anomalies in the stars at an indeterminate distance." "What kind of anomalies?"

Vito asked. Bell was silent for a moment before providing the answer. "Some constellations vanished, or rather, could no longer be observed. The station technicians believed it was a Warp storm and reported it to the commander."

"Anything else?" "The commander agreed and had the Astropath send a warning to the primary world during the window a few days later. Then the logs cut out."

Vito frowned slightly and walked to the command console, looking down at the destroyed instruments. "It seems the intruders tried to prevent them from sending a warning, and they succeeded."

"Except for the distress signal sent by the Astropath. Perhaps because of the Warp storm, it was intercepted by us instead," Lancelot said, rubbing the dashboard, which remained completely unresponsive.

"Guys, I think you'll like this news," Bell said, walking toward the group. "A shuttle departed the station. According to the final logs, it was right after the firefight."

Olaf stepped forward. "Meaning this was an internal mutiny. The traitors slaughtered the entire station and have now escaped on a shuttle."

"But was there any need to take the bodies?" Lancelot asked. Vito shook his head. "That question isn't important for now, and we have no way to answer it."

"How are we supposed to find them?" Ragnar asked immediately, clearly impatient. Bell was silent for a moment. "The data shows the shuttle's fuel was very limited. It seems most of the fuel was taken by an Imperial Navy ship passing through here. The remaining shuttles were all low on fuel."

"Can you calculate their destination?" Vito asked, stepping forward. Bell's white helmet nodded slightly. "Based on the calculations, the shuttle's maximum range would allow the fugitives to reach the nearest Imperial planet: the Agri-World of Owen-4."

Vito walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the distant stars, and activated his vox-link. "Cole, we have a lead. Set coordinates for Owen-4."

Vito paused, turning his head to look at the bullet-riddled commander's chair. "Don't let anyone discover us."