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’I cannot let you do this,’ Nestor said, taking a step towards the door ’My duty, rabbed the plasma pistol from Hephaestus’s belt and thuan to hued up
’You will not open that door, Brother-Apothecary,’ warned Boreas, pointing the pistol at Nestor’s head
’What treachery is this?’ Nestor’s voice, even distorted through his suit, dripped with scorn ’You would kill your own brethren rather than continue the great quest of our Chapter? You, a Chaplain, guardian of our tradi­tions and guide to our souls, would rather kill me than atone for a sin ten thousand years old? I think not’
Nestor took three more steps and reached towards the portal runepad Boreas pulled the trigger and a ball of superheated plas on impart His headless torso, the stu, pitched forward and slu,’ Boreas said, handing the pistol back to Hephaestus
’You do realise that if we do not leave, ill die here,’ the Techmarine told them The virus can stay active for up to seventy days once released That is over twenty days longer than the environmental systems in our armour can sustain us’
’I will obey your command, Brother-Chaplain,’ Zaul said ’If it is to die here, then so be it’
’You are to achieve orbit of Piscina V, and guard against any intrusion’ Boreas stood in the control roo is to land, nothing Do you understand?’
’Yes, Lord Boreas,’ the ship’s officer replied
’I will shortly transe,’ Boreas con­tinued ’When the Tower of Angels arrives, it is to be passed on to Grand Master-Chaplain Sapphon No blame will be attached to you or the crew for the events and our actions of these last weeks I commend you for your dedication to the Chapter, and your perseverance in the pursuit of your duties’
’And ill you be joining us again?’ Naziel asked Boreas paused, unsure what to say
’Wе will not be joining you,’ he said eventually ’These are my final commands The Grand Masters will inform you of your future’
’I don’t understand, my lord’ The confusion was evi­dent in Neziel’s voice
’You do not have to understand, merely obey your orders, Sen,’ Boreas told him ’Honour the Chapter Ven­erate the Emperor Praise the Lion’
’Praise the Lion,’ Naziel echoed and Boreas switched off the link Turning his attention to the data log, he acti­vated the recorder
This is Interrogator-Chaplain Boreas of the Ean ’This is my final coels in the systeainst our Chapter The reviled eneoes beyond our comprehension The events I am about to relate stretch beyond this world, beyond the furthest reaches of this star system Great and dark powers are at work, I see their hand oals’
He stopped, choosing his next words carefully
’For ten thousand years we have sought redemption We have pursued that which shamed our brethren when our tiivable sin, which must be atoned for That is beyond doubt But these last days, an even greater sin has conorance It is the sin of past errors repeated
I ask els Is it to hunt the Fallen, chasing shadows through the dark places of the galaxy? Is it to pursue our quest at any expense, foregoing all other oaths and duties? Is it to lie, to hide and to plot so that others will never know of our shame? Is it to keep our own brethren unacquainted with the truth of our past, the legacy we all share in? Or is it to be a Space Marine? Is it to follow the path laid down by the Ereat Ie the alien, cleanse the unclean?
We ht, to lead the way for others to follow We are the warriors of the Eht stars in the firrandiseels, commit the supreme sin We put ourselves before our duty We have buried our traditions, end and ht stars, we are an e but its own purpose’
He stopped again, feeling weary, and leant against the panel He knew they would not listen, that in fact they could not listen, for he spoke against everything that els what they are
’Included in this log is a complete account of the dis­aster that has befallen Piscina and us For this, I take sole responsibility Our enemies know us too well We have become an anathema to ourselves, as this plot of the Fallen de that has transpired has led us to this place and ti left but to do e o, our soul was split We tell ourselves that the two halves of us are the light and the dark I have learnt a bitter lesson, that it is not true It is a co lie, which keeps us safe from doubt, so that we do not ask the questions whose anse fear There is no light and dark, only the shades of twilight in between
If once there was a chance for us to redeeo For a hundred centuries it has driven us, and consumed us at the same time Not while one Fallen stays alive can we know peace within ourselves But what then? What does it els without the Fallen? We have come to define ourselves by them Take them away and we are left without purpose We have strayed far from the path, and it is my fervent prayer that you, the Grand Masters of the Chapter, the wisest of us, can find the true course again
If not, then there will never be salvation, and all that we aspire to will co, all that we have achieved will be in vain I beseech you not to allow this to happen We are to make the ultiuard our future Do not ’
Boreas switched off the log and walked away As he reached the doorway, he stopped, another thought occur­ring to him, and walked back and reactivated the recorder
’I have one h the rooators, past the catacombs into the deepest chambers Go to that solitary cell at the heart of the Rock and tell hiathered in the chapel, their robes draped over their ar one wall lay the bodies of the forty-two attendants and fourteen aspirants, each covered with a white shroud embroidered with the Chapter symbol At the end, his shroud inverted, lay Nestor The Dark Angels knelt in a single line in front of the altar, Zaul and Hep­haestus to Boreas’s left, Thuht They each clasped a melta-bomb to their chests and bowed their heads Boreas held the detonator, his thuer stud They had been unanimous - better to end the ordeal quickly, lest desperation set in as they starved to death and asphyxiated, and they shoeak­ness This as clean and instant
’What is it that gives us purpose?’ Boreas chanted
’War,’ the others replied
’What is it that gives war purpose?’
’To vanquish the foes of the Emperor’
’Who are the foes of the Emperor?’