The Genestealer army had reached Capello. Getting Pex and the others through the tunnels and around the city had been no easy task, but members of the church were already waiting at the tunnel exit to receive them.
"Thank you, brothers of the church." Pex warmly embraced the man before him. His body had already begun to mutate, with a carapace forming on his head, for instance.
The believer was clearly grieving. With his eyes downcast, he stared at the ground and said, "Those foolish lost souls have misplaced their faith. Hatred has blinded them. We follow the God-Emperor and fight the Xenos, yet they brand us heretics and have killed so many of our brothers and sisters..."
"If we hadn't suffered such heavy losses, we would have reached you sooner."
Pex released the grieving believer but kept both hands on his shoulders. "Don't let temporary hardship frighten you," he encouraged him. "The Four-Armed Emperor teaches us to be brave and strong. No matter how hard we are struck, we must keep fighting! We are not alone. Every member of the church gives us strength to fight."
"Yes! In those dark hours, it was prayer to the God-Emperor that kept me going." Resolve returned to the believer's eyes.
Pex looked past him toward the distant spaceport. A spaceport was one of the most heavily defended places on a planet. Bunkers lined the city's outer walls, and the spaceport's central district within the city could only be described as a fortress of steel.
"Have the arrangements inside the spaceport been made?" he asked gravely.
"Yes. Take these-identification and transit documents. Another of our brethren is waiting inside the spaceport. She'll find you a ship to get you out of here."
The believer took out an envelope and emptied its contents in