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I've started 40k again in the last few months after years of being away from the hobby. I fell in love again with the world, the setting, the fluff. I got my hands on a chaos army, and then on an Ork army, an Eldar army, and finally on an Inquisition force. And I thought I'd give all of those forces a background that would fit the battle that I'll fight with those armies.

And so I begin with the Inquisition Forces. I fell for the Raging Heroes miniatures, and with the fluff of the Sororitas, So I got started on that story...

I hope you enjoy this first snippet of the story, I'll keep on writing, and I'm happy for any comment and critique you might have...

The Purge of Jeku

1 – Light the fire
Aboard the inquisition cruiser Dawn of Judgement

“M’lady? What should I tell them?
-Hmm?… What should you tell to whom?
-I’m sorry, M’lady?
-To whom? What are you talking about?
-I’m sorry, I thought that you had heard…
The inquisitor was close to losing the last sliver of patience that was still lingering in her psyche, of course she hadn’t heard the report, she had been in prayer… She stood up from her kneeling stool facing the shrineof the saint, closed her eyes to regain her composure, and stepped towards the young woman in the black and red robe of an initiate-servant. To her credit, the servant stood her ground, although she seemed to shrink as the Lady Inquisitor’s steps drew closer on the stone floor.
“What is your name, acolyte?
-Leori, M’lady, said the young girl, bowing down her head.
-Wern’t you told to not disturb me when I was in prayer?
The head of the acolyte sank a little lower.
-Yes, M’lady, I know, the Lady of sorrows told me…
-Yes, she did, little daughter, and so you know that I could not have possibly heard your report, so you will kindly repeat it.
The young woman’s shoulders sank further. Her voice was down to a whisper.
-Yes… M’lady…
Mother Mary reached out a gloved hand to raise the acolyte’s chin. She tried to be as gentle as she could muster, under the circumstance.
-You look at me and speak up, Acolyte.
-Yes, M’lady…
-And you will adress me as ‘Mother’.
-Yes… Mother.
The young woman gained some assurance under the good natured eyes of the mother superior.
-So, tell me, what is the matter?
-It’s the troops under Lady Gremika, mother, they encountered some heavy resistance on the third planet, and they are requesting backup.
-What kind of resistance?
-Unclear, m’la… Mother… they are facing armored opposition and bolter fire. They reckon it’s a warband out of the Eye.
-They should be able to deal with it, don’t they have the 198th bataillon?
-They… did, mother, the 198th has been decimated, m’lady…
-What?
-The third planet is heavily bastioned, Mother, our forces have not been able to break through…
-Couldn’t she see that she was outgunned? She threw a bataillion away to learn that? I knew she wasn’t ready for het own command. Where is she now?
-Down on Jeku Tertiae, they have secured a stronghold on the northern continent.
-Foolish, foolish daughter…
The great mother was boiling. Punishing the heretic was one thing – no, it was the only thing. But now that her pupil had made planetfall the new inquisitor and her troop had to be extracted, they couldn’t simply exterminate the planet. Exterminatus had always been a useful tool in her arsenal, the best way to ensure the complete purge of an heretics’ nest. A tool that was now denied to her, at least until it became clear that the Lady Gemika was willing to become a martyr for the greater cause of the Truth of the Emperor.

Mother Magda took a deep breath. She turned around to give a glance to the imperial shrine to the martyed lady, the great Saint who was the living proof of the Emperor’s grace, of the justness of their path. Faith was their greatest weapon against the foes of the imperium, this is what she had kept from the old days with the ecclesiarchy. Now that she served an even greater truth, the only truth that was worth defending, faith was her only rampart against heresy.
The fire of conviction was burning in her breast. She was feeling her old body gearing up for a fight, for yet another purge.
-Thank you, acolyte, that will be all.
-what should we tell them?
-I will go up to the Priory, I will tell them myself, thank you.

And with a thought she summoned her servitor cherubs and stormed out of the room. The cherubs followed her, cheerfully carrying her armor and her holy bolt pistol, a relic of the old days of the imperium, blessed by the Emperor himself on old Terra. When she reached the priory, the command center of her little world, they finally caught up with her and proceeded to arm her.
Her faith was her greatest protection, but armored ceramite was always a good assurance to have.
“Get me Lady Gemika on the Vox.
-Yes, m’lady, said an acolyte and the comms station.
-What is the tactical situation down there?
Sub-Commander Gleinhorn, who headed the Militarum contingent attached to the inquisitorial fleet stepped up to the inquisitor.
-M’lady, the 198th is gone, the 245th is on the way to take up the slack. The Ordo forces have suffered heavy casualties but they have managed to secure a bastion on the northern continent.
-Who sent the 245th?
-I did, M’lady.
-And you think that throwing more bodies in the grinder is going to get things done?
-The 245th has heavier armor, M’lady, we will bomb them out before we land…
-That foolish girl has taken our most effective weapon out of our hands by landing there.
-M’lady? Said the comms acolyte. I have the lady Gemika on vox.

-Daughter? What were you thinking? The inquisitor’s voice was on the edge of losing its ever present composure.
The vox crackled.
… surround… can’t hold… we are losing… please don’t…
-Too much interference, the 245th is coming in for a bombing strike, then the fleet will come as reinforcement…
… no…. Repreat… surrounded, we can’t…. the enemy… losing ground… no reinforcement…
-Daughter, please confirm, you do not request reinforcement?
… correct… no… forcement…. Extermina…. Send extermin… in the name of the blessed lady, exterminatus!
Something in the mother’s heart sank, and something bloomed. She would bring the emperor’s cleansing fire to another world. The heretics would burn, and that filled her with immense joy, with the ecstasy of righteous extermination.
-Blessed may you be, daughter, the Lady will remember your sacrifice.
The inquisitor turned to the Sub-Commander.
-How long until the 245th get there?
-They should be there within two hours at most.
-Give the order. Exterminatus. I want nothing but molten slag on that world by the end of the cycle.
With a click of heels and a salute, the sub-commander nodded.
-Yes, m’am, right away, m’am…
The last piece of armor was getting attached to her right arm.
The golden ornate armor was polished to a blinding sheen by the tender ministrations of the cherubs. She stepped up the dais that led to the command chair. The thought of the charred corpses of the heretics filled her with a fervor that flooded her body with endorphines. I felt good to be the rightful hand of the Emperor, to fulfill the will of the great and blessed Lady. She sat on the command throne. Captain Narn, at her station on her right gave her a respectful nod which was also the passing over of the command of the ship to the Lady Inquisitor.
-Helm, take us to the third planet, full speed ahead, shields at maximum capacity. Have the broadside batteries charged up, and relay the command to the rest of the fleet. Prepare to engage any forces that would come to the aid of the heretics. They will not prevail, the will of the Emperor will light up the way, and those who have strayed from his will will burn.
She could feel the hum of the Nova cannon powering up. It was her proudest achievement, the installation of the plasma lance on the Dawn of Judgement, it was the most powerful fire that the Mechanicus could provide, and she needed fire, she would light the galaxy aflame to purge the heresy.
-M’lady?
-Yes? She turned to the voice on the left, to a young acolyte dressed in the same black and red robes than the one that had come for her in the sanctuary.
-Our visitor, M’lady, he is still waiting.
-So he is, little one, so he is, said the inquisitor, her eyes on the command console, and her heart on the fire ahead.
-He has sent this for you, m’lady.
And she held out a piece of parchment with a red wax seal. The seal was the inquisitorial I.
Mother Mary was intrigued.
-Wasn’t I told that our guest was Astartes?
-Yes M’lady.
-Deathwatch?
-No M’lady, he and his men are in a livery that I am not familiar with.
-And he hasn’t told us his name yet?
-I believe he is waiting for you for that, m’lady.
Mary took the roll, broke the seal and read the scroll.
It was a quote from the Lectitio Divinitatus:

“And the heavens will burn with great revel,
The joy of salvation on the heretics lips,
The taste of the righteous word of the Emperor,
In the flesh of the just.”

She looked at the acolyte.
“When did he give this to you?
-An hour ago, after you retired to the sanctuary.
-Thank you. Where is he now?
-Still in the docking bay with his frigate, M’lady.

She though that it could wait until after the purge of the Tertiae, but clearly their guest either had a knack with lucky passages of scripture, or knew more than he should.

-Send word that I’m going down there to have a talk. He better have a good story…

2 – The visitor

The frigate was anchored outside of the lower portside cargo bay. It was dwarfed by the Dawn of Judgement, but seemed to carry a large complement of the transhuman warriors of the Adeptus Astartes.

The Captain commanding the group was in the cargo bay, overseeing some sparring exercises that his warriors were conducting in the vast cargo bay. They were wearing combat fatigues from the waist up, but wore the armored legs of their power armor. Seemingly from a ancient pattern, and appart from a brass trim, they were all bare dull-grey ceramite. The captain wore full armor, a hulking suit of terminator plate in the same dull grey, but his right arm was deep crimson, and his shoulder bore a simple black circle.

He turned around when she entered the space. He was not wearing his helmet, and, at a distance, he bowed his head slightly in aknowledgement, and walked towards her. She always felt uneasy around Space Marines, there was something in their inhumanity that made her skin crawl. Their impossible bulk, especially when they were wearing their oversized armors and weapons, marked them as other. Just like the oversized oaf of an Ogryn that that the Commander insisted on using as a bodyguard.

“Inquisitor, thank you for your welcome, he said, extending a hand. My men are always happy to stretch their legs, the Icarus can get cramped at times.
The lady inquisitor ignored the outstretched hand.
-Captain, she said, what brings you to this theater? I have my hands full at the moment, I don’t have time for pleasantries. What are space marines doing in my warzone, and what chapter are you, I do not recognize your makings?
-We are the Sunless, said the man, his brow furrowing. And we are here to assist you.
She handed him the scroll with the passage of scripture.
-Never heard of you. How do you want to "Assist" us? Under whose authority? I have not requested Astartes assistance. My daughters of the Adepta Sororitas with be able to handle the situation.
-I have come under the autority of Inquisitor Terriax, of the Ordo Xenos, to provide heavier firepower.
-And why exactly had this Inquisitor Terriax judged opportune to his nose in my business?
A female voice came from behind her, tainted with the electonic tones of a power armor vox unit.
-Because she still follows your teachings, holy mother.
Mother Magda turned around to face the newcomer, who was wearing a black and gold old pattern power armor. Her face was hidden under her helm.

-Do I know you? She asked, he lips pursed in an annoyed smirk. I don’t have time for charades.
The woman reached up to undo her helm.
-You knew me once, Mother, but maybe you have forgotten.
She revealed a chiseled face with short-cropped blonde hair. It was her deep blue eyes that struck the older woman.
-Sister Diana?
With a slight smile on her thin lips, she nodded.
-It is Inquisitor Terriax, now. When you left the monastery I found myself drawn to the same destiny. If you remember I was always deep in the study of texts on the other races of the glaxy, those not blessed by the light of the emperor, and when a small group of us had to deal with a greenskin incursion on one of the moons of Andericus, I got in touch with the Ordo Xenos. And so here I am…
-With Space Marines?
Terriax looked up to the gruff features of the Space Marine captain.
-They are all that could be spared. I wish I could have come with a Deathwatch team, but this ragtag band of Sunless will have to do.
The Captain’s eyebrow rose.
-You know, inquisitor, he said, it will take more than petty insults to get under my skin.
He smiled slightly.
-I know, but I enjoy it too much to stop.
Mother Magda was getting annoyed at the pleasantries.
-And so, dear daughter, what are you doing in my warzone?
-Helping out. I have reason to believe that an Eldar craftworld is nearby, and that this system was one of theirs in the past.
-Yes, we have found some eldar artifacts, but it’s hardly relevant, since the main problem of this system is with heretics. I am handling the situation.
-I am sure that you are, mother, and I will not engage my troops unless you ask me to. I will investigate the other worlds of the system while you deal with the situation on Tertiae.

-Do not presume to tell me what to do, young one, I still am the commanding officer in this system. Keep your wardogs on a short leash, and get off of my ship.
And with a flourish of rustling robes and the clang of armored feet, she turned and walked away.

That old lady seems a bit too arrogant for her own good, insulinting Astartes is never wise

Well, she Is an inquisitor, after all, one taken from the ranks of the ecclesiarchy... If anyone can be an arrogant bastard, I would think that it's her...

And yes, it will likely come back to bite her later in the story...

3 – To Hell in a dropship.

When the Dawn of Judgement reached high anchor over Tertiae, the inquisitorial frigate of Terriax was long gone, which was good riddance. Inquisitor Magda Doloria Divinis was more than able to deal with whatever this system was going to throw at her, and she certainly didn’t need help from a minor agent of the Ordo Xenos… She was still fuming when the commander came into her private chamber next to the priory to give her report.
“M’Lady, the 245th have bombarded the surface as ordered. Virus bombs then prometheum ingition, as prescribed in the texts. They are standing by for orbital drop as soon as the temperature is bearable. The Legio is also getting ready to send engines planetside to exterminate the last remaining pockets of resistance.
-Good, good, thank you, commander, have my dropship ready to join the forces, and have Canonness Helena report to me as soon as possible. It’s not because all has been burned to a crisp that we should not be careful.
-Yes, M’lady, the Cannonness is on the bridge as we speak, I’ll send her in momentarily.
-Thank you, you are dismissed.
As the commander left, Magda felt a twinge of irritation. Even if the regiments of he Imperial Guard that she had requisitioned for her expeditionary fleet had been recruited from her own homeworld, forging a bond between her and the troops, she could not help but feel annoyed at the military. Of course they followed the same Imperial Truth, but their faith was…
She shuddered at the thought, feeling a slight disgust at the mere suggestion. Their faith was weak. They were going to fail, at some point, there was nothing she could do about it, only endure their presence and their numbers as a resource to be spent. The thought was brushed away when the cannonness came in. Now that was a woman that she could count on, her faith unwavering, her strength. She was an impressive woman, in her power armor, at least as intimidating as any of the transhuman monsters of the Astartes.
-M’lady, she said when she entered the room, the sisters are ready to serve.
Magda smiled.
-Of course you are, beloved daughter, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.

-Be ready to be deployed. You will accompany me with all available sisters to the surface to converge on Gramitka’s last position. Your priority is to wipe any remaining resistance while we recover any relics from the holy martyrs.
-Yes, Mother superior, by the will of the emperor and the Blessed Lady, it will be done.

The heavyset woman bowed her head, her hands already on the handle of the bolter slung over her shoulder and she swung the massive power hammer that was her weapon of choice over her heart.

-The Emperor protects, she said, before turning away.
-The Emperor protects, replied the inquisitor, filled with pride.

Sister Derriki was the pillar of her force, the core and heart of what had become the permanent monastery of the Dawn of Judgement. She had followed the light of the Emperor that had led Magda to the Ordo Hereticus, and with her, the forces of five companies of the Order of the Martyred Lady.
Through her, in their hours of need, the presence of the living saint herself had been manifested, and the glory of the God Emperor had been made manifest. Derriki was not a sophisticated woman by any count, she had unwavering faith, and a keen acumen for battle tactics, and that made her much more valuable than most of the indoctrinated nobility of the imperial inquisition.
Magda smiled at her own drifting thoughts, and, with a deep breath, readied herself for the battle ahead. In a corner of her sparsely furnished room was a kneeling stool in front of a simple golden statue of the Saint and the Emperor, their swords raised in defiance. She knelt, and her cherubs brought her bolt pistol in front of her. She put her left hand on the golden casing of the holy weapon, her eyes fixed on the benevolent face of the golden figure of the God-Emperor of Mankind.

“God-Emperor, ye who guides humanity
ye who had sacrificed your mortal shell
For the salvation of mankind,
ye who illuminates
ye who smite the wicked,
ye who guides the hand of righteous,
bless this poor woman who follows your will,
bless this humble woman who bears your might.

Let my arm smite your enemy with your fury,
Guide my bolts to their mark,
Guide my fury with yours.

I am your love, made manifest,
I am your will, made manifest,
I am your ever watchful eye,
I am your ever vengeful arm.

The Emperor protects.”

She smiled, took a deep breath, and took the ornate weapon.
She was filled with joy. Once more the Emperor was calling her to do his will. Once more the holy music of bolters was going to sing the praise of the one true God, the one true master of the Galaxy. Her body was vibrating with conviction, her faith made manifest in the psychic tingle on her skin.

The holstered her pistol on her thigh, and headed out to the priory, where she knew that her officers were already in prayer. Holy war was her calling, and it filled her with great pride to know that her crew were almost as pious as she was, almost as worthy as she was.

Maybe the Saint would come to bless them with her presence, as she had done so many times before. The portents were good, the circumstances ripe.

They were on the night side of Tertiae, and the view through the reinforced glassteel of the priory’s arches was glorious. The orange glow of the fires was rippling gently on the world’s continents, glowing under the layer of smoke and vapor that shrouded the dying world. The world had been heretical, and it was burning. Everything felt at its righteous place. Magda liked when things were at their righteous place. Something in her was soothed by the fires below.

-Comms, report, what is the status of the 245th?
-All ships reporting ready for drop, none have met any hostiles, all anchor levels are clear.
-Anything from the surface?
-Nothing so far, our troops presumed lost.
-Blessed may they be.
The comms operator nodded.
-The Emperor protects, she said, almost under her breath.
-Yes, child, the Emperor protects, said the Inquisitor.

The void navigation officer chimed in:
-M’lady, should we move to low anchor to get ready for planetside assault?
-Yes, thank you, move to low anchor, and open all launch bays, get ready for atmospheric drop.
-Twenty minutes to launch, m’lady.
-Perfect! I’ll get to my ship, commander, you have the bridge.

As she walked down to the cargo bay that was just below the command spire, she made a mental note to make sure that her ship carried enough reliquaries to gather the martyred remains of her valorously dead daughter.

When the time came and she felt the tug of the grav-harness on her shoulders and waist, she could not hold her fervor in:
“Praise the God-Emperor! she exclaimed, Praise to the martyred lady! Praise to the light of mankind!
-Praise be! Replied all of the Sisters around her who heard her.
The ship, a venerable assault gunship blessed into service by the Inquisition long before her own birth, had see action in the long darkness of the age of apostasy, and had a long history of service to the ecclesiarchy. She had felt it fitting to choose it as her own personal shuttle.
The turbulence of the orbital insertion was dampened by the gravitic harness, but she still felt the familiar hum of atmospheric turbulence once they had reached the low altitude of higher density. There would be the tang of burned biota in the air when they reached the surface, the sickening aroma of roasted bones, of scorched earth. They would land within a mile of the site of the last stand of the Inquisitorial forces who had stood there only a few hours ago. There was a twinge somewhere in her consciousness for the loss of her daughter, but the world had burned to expiate that loss, to make right.
The gunship landed with a shudder of the gravitic dampeners. The harnesses disengaged, and the assault ramp lowered. The wall of heat that met them was a testament to the inferno that had turned the world to ashes.
Magda sealed her helmet and walked down the ramp. Straight ahead were the remains of what had long ago been an imperial outpost. Judging by the state it was in now it was probably already structurally unsound before the bombardment, and there would be little chance to find anything in the rubble of the building.
“Get some digging servitors on site, I want the whole site searched and blessed. Gather all relics, incinerate all heretical remains.
As she said that she spotted a skull on the ground in front of her. By the elongated shape and the horns protruding from it, it was from one of the warp denizens that so often accompanied the heretical witches.
“You shall not suffer the witch to live" she said, crushing the skull under her boot.

You do know that there is no such thing as the Imperial Army in 41th millennium ? It was disbanded after the Horus heresy, also I belive phospex is bannned by the imperium

Then I should change it to Imperial Guard, simply?

Any suggestion for what gives a good burn apart from the banned phosphex?

Yea that would be smart i think.
Hmm can never go wrong with prometium?

Or maybe atomics?

Well considering that they intend to operate on the world I would not use atmoics on anything but high value targets shield by void shields and such

But they could work Well too I have to say

My god, that Magda is a filthy savage who should have been released back into the wild decades ago!

Love the story and the 40K atmosphere you brilliantly portrayed. You really could picture Inquisitor Magda in the actual universe... I wouldn't doubt she's out there right now plotting the next Exterminatus. Lolz

That was really good! I always enjoy it when someone writes faith into the universe and brings such an integral part of imperial structure alive. So much more dimension than more bolter porn. Looking forward to seeing more if this.

This was all I could think about when I saw the title of the thread.