Disciples of Fate - The Fall of a Chapter

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**Disciple of Fate**

The Lords of Annihilation had a proud record before turning to Chaos. Almost 3000 years of faithful service to the Imperium ended, their fall starting with the events on Tradur. A detachment of Annihilators under chief librarian Amunhet responded to a astropath message from Ordo Malleus inquisitor Sador Loq. Chaos cults uprisings around the planet were fighting a hard pressed PDF. Sightings of traitor marines belonging to the Prodigal Sons. Loq knowing the traitor marines would break the PDF and prevent her from saving the planet called in aid.

With the arrival of the Annihilators Loq was certain she could break the uprisings. Using her gathered information she pinpointed the Adeptus Terra building in Hormes Hive to be the focal point for the Chaos cults. Hormes Hive defense forces reported most Prodigal Sons sightings near the building but didn't have the means to assault it. Loq planned to use the small force under Amunhet to strike at the head of the insurrection. Amunhet agreed to the plan and Loq ordered the guard forces to launch a diversionary attack to draw away enemy forces.
Amunhet's force escorted Loq, encountering minor resistance after penetrating the front lines. Heavy fighting for control over the entrance saw half the Imperial force and most traitor marines and guards dead. Inside the building the influence of Chaos was obvious, whispers and swirling colors moved with them towards their objective.

Amunhet ordered brother Hathor to clear the room for inquisitor Loq. Hathor kicked in the door and entered a large room, most likely an office for one of the higher adepts. Nine Cultist turned and looked at them with shock. Their surprise only lasting seconds before they were riddled with bolter fire. Amunhet made sure there were no other threats present before allowing Loq in. Now he got a good look at the room for the first time. Swirling colors which he had never seen danced around the room and the whispers were quickly turning into screaming. His psychic senses were overloading by the sheer power radiating from an object near one of the dead cultists.
Moving closer he saw it was a book, covered in chaotic symbols. Upon seeing the symbols Amunhet immediately realized that this was the source of the corruption. Trying to block out the psychic attacks was wearing him down. Realizing it would be best to leave the room to prevent his brothers from being corrupted Amunhet picked up the book. Upon touching it Amunhet psychic barriers collapsed. He felt something grazing his mind, almost collapsing from the sensation. An instant later Great visions of power and control over his chapter flooded his mind. He could gain powers that would make a mockery of his current power. Homing in on Amunhet's ambition the visions showed him what good he could do for the Imperium with this book. Stopping the Black Crusades and even the death of Abbadon at his hands. Chaos would be thrown back into the Eye of Terror for millennia. The breathing space this offered would allow the Imperium to consolidate and regain some of the former glory of the Great Crusade. It would expand with him and his Lords of Annihilation at the forefront.

''Lord Amunhet,'' Amunhet was brought back to the room and turned around to see Loq standing in front of him. ''Apologies my lady. I was considering the extent of exposure from the warp we could suffer,'' Amunhet saw her eyes fall to the book. Amunhet could hear her whispering a prayer to the emperor under her breath. ''If you would hand it over,'' Loq said, holding out a statis case.
Amunhet started lifting the book but hesitated, would this be a mistake? Would the inquisition destroy it, with it the chance for a better Imperium? Maybe he needed to consult his Chapter Master first. ''Hand it over,'' this time not even sounding like a request but a order, or a threat Amunhet thought. Amunhet considered his response to Loq, finally deciding. ''I think it would be best for us to transport the artifact to our fortress monastery for safekeeping. We have a strike cruiser in orbit and it will be safe until a stronger inquisition force can collect it.''

Amunhet saw the flash of anger in her eyes, or rather behind them, as he was finishing his argument. ''I am an inquisitor of the holy Ordo Malleus with the authority of the God-Emperor. I demand you hand it over or suffer the consequences of angering the inquisition,'' tension building up as Loq slowly started drawing her power sword. Drawing his bolt pistol with lightning speed and aiming it at her forehead Amunhet hissed ''That would be a most unwise move. The Adeptus Astartes fall outside your authority inquisitor. We will return to my strike cruiser with the artifact and you can accompany us if you wish,'' Loq released the hilt of her sword, realizing that the marines in the room were pointing their bolters at her. Visibly shaking with anger she addressed the group of marines. ''Titan will hear of this, I am ordering you to stand down,'' she opened a vox channel. ''Guard and Navy command, this is inquisitor Loq, Lord Amunhet is not allowed to leave this system without authorization of the holy inquisition. Loq out,''
''It seems we have a third solution to your safety problem. We will return to my headquarters astartes,'' she turned around and walked to the door, not waiting for Amunhet's response. A single shot went off. The bolt shell was so fast Loq never heard the shot before it entered the back of her head.

Amunhet contacted Guard command a day after the assault on the Adeptus Terra building. Reporting heavy losses and the loss of inquisitor Loq. Hours after the mission started an encounter with hostile infantry and armored elements led to a protracted battle. During which Loq was captured by the enemy. Unable to contact loyalist forces due to jamming chief librarian Amunhet made the call to push onwards towards their objective. They successfully eliminated the leaders of the uprising, but were not successful in retrieving Loq. Ending his report with a warning that the inquisitor's vox frequency might be breached and used to sow confusion. Inquisitor Loq is currently listed as missing, but rumors are circulating that she might have turned renegade or was killed. Not in small part due to the efforts of the Annihilators in planting the rumors.

**The Observer**

I like it. I really do, it shows how human the Astartes are. Just as easy to corrupt even if not easier.
I cant wait for the next part!

**Disciple of Fate**

The Observer wrote:
I like it. I really do, it shows how human the Astartes are. Just as easy to corrupt even if not easier.
I cant wait for the next part!

Thanks Observer, Im glad you liked it. It was for a background contest for your own character from the local GW. Ive really gotten into it and im working on at least two more parts besides this one. But here is the next part I came up with.

Spoiler:

Amunhet walked swiftly trough the Lords of Annihilation fortress monastery. His excitement almost made him run through the hallways. It had been over a month since the events in Hormes Hive and he couldn't wait to share what he had discovered. But he could see his objective up ahead. The doors to the librarium were closed, but he could feel his brothers on the other side. He needed to convince them like the brothers from the Hormes strike. Thinking about it made his mind drift to the month that had passed.

The strike force had made it back to the Imperial lines with the book in his possession. The general of the guard forces had asked him about what happened on their strike at the heart of the rebellion. He had believed what Amunhet told him, or he didn't have the resolve to question the loyalty of the Adeptus Astartes. It was good enough for Amunhet, being questioned about his loyalty to the Emperor once in a lifetime was more than he could take. Although he couldn't wait to learn more about the book, he still had a duty to perform. Tradur had been cleansed of Chaos taint in a week, swift strikes at critical points had broken the back of the cultists. Their help no longer needed, the Lords of Annihilation prepared to return to their home world.

Then the questioning began. Professional enough not to question him while their campaign was still ongoing Amunhet's brothers now wanted to know what had transpired in Hormes Hive. Not one of them bothered asking if the death of Loq was necessary, they knew what a overzealous inquisitor with a grudge could mean for the chapter. They wanted to know about the book, his book he corrected himself. Tensions were starting to run high, the marines dividing into two factions. One utterly loyal to Amunhet, or otherwise keeping silent as to what they thought. The other publicly questioning Amunhet's decision to take aboard the book they found. But he had a plan to solve the whole problem.

The book had shown him so many things while he had the time to study it. It had greatly amplified his powers, although it was hurtful to study the book and receive that power at first . But that changed, after a while it became calming, clearing his mind, allowing him to see. He started seeing the subtle changes in the book while reading it over and over again. Reading between the lines the story behind the book dawned on Amunhet. The book was old, spanning back to the days of the great crusade. It explained mankind's destiny was tragically cut short by heresy . This heresy had stagnated the Imperium, weakening it, changing it. The Emperor never envisioned the Imperium as it was today, but certain factions depended on this state. The heresy had formed them and given them almost unlimited power over the weakened Imperium. They wouldn't let go of this power, but keeping hold of this power meant keeping the Imperium in a state of stagnation forever. It mentioned 'Others' who found this book and tried to regain the Imperium's glory, the Emperor's vision. It never gave a name, just 'Others' and symbol of a dragon eating its own tail. They had been stopped by those factions, attacked, cast out of the Imperium. Loq had been just a small cog in that machine, covering up the truth.

Here he was, standing it the cruiser's chapel, watching his detachment of 40 marines enter. The book lay quietly on the plinth in front of him, the confusion and noise it had made when he first saw it absent. He found its presence strangely calming, considering what he had to accomplish here. It was time to reunite them into a single purpose, it was time to show them the visions. ''I have asked you to come here to heal the rift that has been created, to show you what I have seen,'' Amunhet considered his next words. ''Some of you questioned my choice of taking the book, but it has shown me much. You will see what needs to be done for the glory of the Imperium and the Emperor.'' Amunhet focused, using his newfound powers to amplify the effect of the book. ''See here the truth which Loq covered up. In his great wisdom the Emperor guided me to the book first, to show me his vision. Loq wanted to cover this up, destroy it. I know what images are flowing through your minds brothers for I have seen them too.''

It had been several hours since he had shown the book that he realized his 'brothers' might not be so accepting. He had left them stunned in the chapel, giving them time to process what they had seen. But now he was looking at two reports that had came in. The first was strange to say the least, brother Oris had been found dead in his chamber. Reading the medicae report revealed one of the most gruesome ways to end your own life Amunhet had ever heard. He had ripped out his progenoid glands with his bare hands, then cracked his own ribcage to their his twin hearts out. It was greatly disturbing, brother Oris was a levelheaded and silent marine who had never stood out from the rest. Amunhet had wondered why this had transpired, coming to the conclusion that Oris had realized his entire life up to now had been a mistake, the serving of a lie, an abomination to the Emperor. The other report was far more alarming, three marines had tried to attack the bridge of the cruiser, trying to take over control. They had tried to stop them from returning to their home world. They had tried to keep the truth from the whole chapter. Amunhet sighed and saw the grave implications of this event. These factions were larger then he thought, they seemed to have wormed their way into even his beloved chapter. He would have to be more careful to who he would reveal his find.

Amunhet's mind snapped back to the present, he was standing in front of the doors now. He entered and was greeted with a salute from brother Hathor. Hathor was young, so they might not have gotten to him yet Amunhet mused .He was just recently inducted as a librarian, but he had ambition and had a bright future ahead in the librarium. Amunhet walked over and smiled, ''Greetings brother, I have something that you might consider interesting.''

**Disciple of Fate**

Its been a while since ive written my last piece, but I had a lot of other things to attend to. Well here is my third piece.

Spoiler:

Amunhet's legs almost buckled. He could not believe what he was seeing on the pict-feed, yet there it was, clear as could be. They had monitored the chamber, THEY HAD MONITORED IT! Several days had passed since he had sensed a large ship enter the Peridia system, home to the Lords of Annihilation. Just an hour ago it Amunhet had learned who it belonged too, the Imperial Inquisition. He and several others had been summoned for council by Chapter Master Menes. Now its purpose had become clear, the Inquisition knew what had transpired over a year ago on Tradur. He could see the shock and disbelieve on the face of his lord as the images were repeated several times. Although the rest of his brother wore full battle plate his powers could sense some of the same emotions too. High Chaplain Amratian almost visibly radiated anger, no matter, Amunhet had realized Amratian could never be swayed. Besides Amratian only a few others felt the same emotions, far more showed only contempt or simple disinterest to the feed. Good, their secret had come out sooner than expected, but enough had been swayed to the higher cause.

''So, as you can clearly see lord, your librarian killed an inquisitor appointed by the God-Emperor. We demand that decisive action will be taken and the Chaos artifact be delivered in the safe keeping of the Holy Inquisition.'' It was as Amunhet had feared, they had found out. The factions which the book had warned about had come to remove him, just as they had the 'others'. ''My lord, I have seen what this book has to offer. They want to destroy it, so that they can preserve their undeserved power. The Emperor did not envision the Imperium as it exi...'' ''And what do you know of the Emperor's will brother?'' Amratian interrupted, ''This book,'' emphasizing the word with loathing,'' has clearly been tainted. You cannot see this clearly, it has touched your mind psyker. I agree with the inquisitor, the book should be turned over to him, so that its taint is not allowed to spread. Brother Amunhet should be taken into the care of me and my brethren in the Reclusiam and be judged for his actions.'' An awkward silence descended when Amratian was done speaking. Every brother in the room realized the implications of what the inquisitor and Amratian had said. The Chapter would be viewed as tainted if it would make the right decision, yet damning one of their own seemed inconceivable. At least the ones who Amunhet hadn't been able to convince. He felt his Disciples steel themselves and squashing doubt with grim determination. They had known this day would arrive and were ready to do what was required for the glory of the Emperor.

Chapter Master Menes sighed, ''Brother Amunhet, your actions speak for themselves, yet I would hear what you have to say.'' ''Thank you my lord, I believe we could use this for the betterment of the Imperium. I am not the only one amongst my brothers who believes this. Many have already pledged themselves to the Emperor's vision. The Inquisition is afraid of what it would lose as a consequence.'' Amunhet was done, now it was out of his hands. But there would be no way back, whatever decision would be made this day would bring down the wrath of the Inquisition or be the end of himself. After what seemed like hours Menes spoke, ''I have made a decision. The Inquisitions request for the Chaos artifact will be granted, but the fate of brother Amunhet is a Chapter matter. The Inquisition has no authority over the Adeptus Astartes and you would do well to remember that in the future inquisitor. Brother Amratian, take brother Amunhet int...'' ''NO!'' Amunhet was shocked, so it had come to this.

Amratian pulled out his bolt pistol, ''You defy the will of our lord? How far have you already fallen brother? You have a choice, deliver yourself to me or die right here condemned a traitor.'' ''I..'' Amunhet hesitantly began, he had not been able to convince them all in just a year. But he would be damned if he wasted that year's preparation. Steeling himself for the coming hours, the psychic warning was transmitted from his mind. Next to him brother Gerzeh immediately reacted and fired a shot at Amratian. Seeing the bolter being raised Amratian barely evaded the bolt shell and squarly shot Gerzeh in his faceplate. The room broke out in a flurry of activity, the Disciples making short work of the unprepared and utterly shocked brothers who had not been swayed. Amratian was fast, Amunhet would give him that, but that didn't save him from the four bolter rounds that avenged brother Gerzeh. Amunhet quickly shot Menes in the head, the fool didn't even have time to pull his own weapons.

An hour had passed since. Shots could still be heard echoing down the halls of the fortress-monastery. But Amunhet didn't pay attention to the sporadic sound anymore. Initial reports were good, more than 400 of his brothers seemed to have sided with his Disciples. It was better than he could have expected, this more than doubled the force he had counted on. He had not been the only one to recruit brothers to his cause. Hathor had also done so, but Amunhet had told him not to involve anyone else. It seemed Hathor had defied his orders, but proved that he was a good judge of character. Vastly increasing the ranks of his Disciples. Hathor was promising, he would soon join Amunhet's inner circle as his right hand. Even now he was commanding the Disciples against the remaining pockets of resistance. Now came the hardest part. During the short but heavy struggle the Inquisition ship had pulled out of orbit and was even now moving towards the warp translation point. It was only a matter of time before it returned with reinforcements. They would be hunted to conceal the secret, just like the 'others' had been. Orders had already been sent out to prepare to leave their home behind. In the coming six months they would recruit as many new marines and manufacture as much equipment as possible. Manufacturing capabilities had to be transferred to their ships in orbit. There were plans to make, he had to figure out where they would go. But most importantly, how were they to fulfill the Emperor's vision?