The space station's landing bay was pitch-black. All the lights, landing indicators, even the display lights on the airlock doors, were out. Not a sound could be heard, only a silence that sent chills down the spine.
It was as if they were in the dark void beyond the holy light of the Emperor's Astronomican. Everything was shrouded in icy silence, floating in this deathly stillness.
But gradually, a glimmer began to illuminate the dark world. A few dim blue lights grew brighter, until they became blazing beams as hot as the sun.
A Thunderhawk Gunship eased into the landing bay through the launch exit, flames billowing from its vector thrusters. The fire lit up all the surrounding darkness. With a rumble, the thrusters lowered, slowly bringing the Thunderhawk down onto the landing bay.
The gunship's hatch swung open with a crash, and a massive figure strode out, followed by a second. Four Deathwatch Astartes stepped out, all wearing the helmets of their respective Chapters, but painted black. Powerful lamps mounted on their armor cast bright beams, instantly sweeping away the remaining darkness.
The Astartes warriors carried bolters and melee weapons, surrounding the deck of the Thunderhawk. Vito emerged from the cabin as well, wearing a sealed helmet. Each step of his mag-boots sent tiny sparks of lightning flickering around him.
The Inquisitor descended from the Thunderhawk and surveyed his surroundings. It was obvious that the gravity and life-support systems had either failed or been sabotaged.
Vito gave Ragnar a slight nod. The Space Wolf gripped his Chainaxe and strode toward an internal hatch that stood half open. Ragnar tore the door off and casually tossed it behind him, leaving it to float as he charged into the corridor, his blue helmet lenses sweeping across their surroundings.
"All clear, brothers," he said over his helmet's comms. He then took another couple of steps inside, and the rest of the visitors followed.
The Space Marines moved down the corridor, keeping Vito in the middle and shielding him like a wall from any possible firing positions. Their heavy footsteps echoed through the station's dead corridors. Apart from the clank of their iron boots, there was no sound at all. The place was as silent as if it had been abandoned for ages.
Bell passed a noticeboard with a station announcement pinned to it. "Looks like this place was busy, at least before we arrived."
"A station like this usually has a crew of several hundred. Even if it was attacked, we should have seen at least one body," Lancelot said, pushing aside a broken table in their way. Its shattered fragments gently struck the wall, then slowly drifted elsewhere.
"I agree with him, Vito. There was obviously a firefight here," Ragnar said, turning his head to shine his helmet lamp on one wall. Several bullet holes were clearly visible.
Vito stopped, and the four Space Marines stopped with him. They stood behind and beside him, examining the bullet holes in the wall.
"Solid-round weapons, not bolters," Lancelot quickly concluded. Olaf tilted his head and looked down the corridor. "Someone was running and shooting as they went. Maybe the guards were trying to fight off the intruders?" "If so, both sides must have been prepared to die alongside their enemies."
Ragnar's voice came from farther down the corridor. Everyone followed it, and before they reached him, they could already see the enormous hole in the bulkhead. A gaping breach had torn through the station corridor, exposing it directly to space.
Vito crouched and gently ran a finger over the fragments on the bulkhead. He looked at the powder on his fingertip.
"Rocket fire, hastily and very foolishly fired. I'd guess quite a few people died from the blast, rather than being sucked out into space."
"But we haven't seen any bodies. Do you think the intruders took them? Or did it on purpose?" Olaf asked in surprise. "But what kind of enemy would do that? Some twisted Drukhari bloodletter?"
"No, those deviants prefer the living, not corpses," Ragnar said, patting the bulkhead with his palm. "And we haven't seen any traces of Aeldari weapons. Their flashy gear tends to leave plenty of marks."
"You're right, Ragnar. It wasn't the Aeldari." Vito stood up, but Olaf still looked confused. "I can't think of what enemy it could be, Inquisitor. Besides, what's so valuable about this station that intruders would go to such lengths to attack it?"
"I don't know, but I think we can find the answer in the command tower," Vito said, leading the way down the dark corridor. The four Space Marines followed close behind.
It didn't take them long to find the command tower. All Imperial space stations were built to the same standard template. Their exteriors could look quite different, but their interiors were largely alike. Once you'd been to one station, you had a pretty good idea what to expect from the rest.
Vito and the four Deathwatch Space Marines had been to plenty of stations, and many of them had been unpleasant. Getting through those places had often meant spending a lot of time shooting and hacking people apart.
This one was much easier. They reached the command tower without trouble, only to find it deserted. A vast semicircular glass wall stood at the front. The Imperial Aquila hung from the ceiling, beneath which stood countless Adeptus Mechanicus devices.
Like many other parts of the station, the room was full of signs of conflict. Vito walked over to the station master's chair. A bullet hole marred its backrest, and dried blood stained the leather seat.
That wasn't all. Nearly the entire control console had been deliberately wrecked. The perpetrators had used guns and blunt weapons to smash the displays. Every instrument and every augur had been destroyed.
"Bell, see if there's any data left. I doubt these idiots understood how the machines work." Vito had barely finished speaking when Bell revealed he was already on it.
He used the multifunction tool on his arm to cut open a data terminal. After probing around inside, he pulled out a black hard drive. "Clearly, these idiots thought destroying the control panels would wipe everything. All heretics are cut from the same cloth."
"Wow, don't let the Adeptus Mechanicus hear that, or those guys will have another fit," Ragnar said with a laugh as Bell plugged the drive into an interface. The Ultramarine stood and checked its data through his helmet.
"This station detected an ill omen a month ago. According to the data, celestial bodies were undergoing changes at an indeterminate distance away." "What kind of changes?"
Vito asked. Bell fell silent for a moment, then quickly gave his answer. "Some constellations disappeared, or rather, could no longer be observed. The station technicians suspected a Warp Storm and reported it to the station master."
"Anything else?" "The station master agreed to let the Astropath send a warning to the Capital World during a brief window a few days later. Then the records cut off."
Vito frowned slightly and walked to the control station, looking down at it. Every instrument had been destroyed. "Looks like the intruders tried to stop them from sending a warning, and succeeded."
"Besides the Astropath's distress call, which we received, perhaps because of the Warp Storm," Lancelot said, rubbing the control panel. It didn't respond at all.
"Guys, I think you'll like this news." Bell walked over to the others. "A shuttle left the station. According to the last record, it must have been after the firefight."
Olaf stepped forward. "So there was a mutiny aboard the station. The traitors slaughtered everyone, and they've already escaped aboard the shuttle."
"But did they need to take the bodies?" Lancelot asked. Vito shook his head. "That question doesn't matter for now. We have no way to answer it anyway."
"How do we find them?" Ragnar asked at once, clearly eager to get moving. Bell paused for a moment. "The data shows the shuttle had very limited fuel. It seems most of the station's fuel was taken by an Imperial Navy vessel that passed through here. The remaining shuttles were all short on fuel."
"Can you calculate where they went?" Vito asked, stepping closer. Bell's white helmet gave a slight nod. "According to my calculations, the shuttle had enough fuel to take the fugitives to the nearest Imperial planet: the Agri-World of Owen-4."
Vito walked to the enormous floor-to-ceiling window and gazed out at the distant stars. Then he activated his comms. "Cole, we've found something. Set a course for Owen-4."
Vito stopped speaking and turned to look at the station master's chair, its back blown through by a bullet. "Don't let anyone find out about us."
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