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The void between the stars screamed, buckled and burst asunder as the Imperial ships arrived. For a few short moments, reality was torn open and the tortured energies of the Immaterium shrieked out from within. Near hellish tendrils of warp energy grasped outwards from the spiralling tear in space as the five Cruisers of the Segmentum Tempestus fleet emerged from the otherworldly portal. Like colossal cathedrals they slowly floating out into the dark void. Immense and baroque, the vessels hung for a moment, dwarfed by the sheer scale of what lay before them. A space hulk. A vast conglomeration of vessels lost within the warp, twisted and fused together by those foul energies, it stretched for tens of kilometres in either direction. The Imperial fleet was absolutely diminutive in comparison.

Pacing the bridge deck of the lead ship “Lord Bromme”, Grand Inquisitor Venkov breathed his pent up breath out at the sheer scale of the thing. He was an ancient figure, hunched over his walking staff, sharply aquiline nose protruding from beneath his piercing eyes. In almost two centuries of service to the holy inquisition Venkov had never seen anything like it. He had never even conceived of something so immense, something so terrifyingly vast and unknown. It excited him like nothing else had in decades. Around him, the deck crew busily raced around running scans of the hulk’s composition and possible entry points. The inquisitor scarcely noticed them; he was so focused on the objective of this expedition. So this was it then, this was the infamous “Eternal Damnation”. For the better part of a decade the Inquisitor had delved into some of the most ancient archives across two sectors for the barest mentions of the hulk. He had spent months scanning through the millennia old data stacks of the Molokoid Primaris librariums, just for the mention of the name Eternal Damnation. Had ordered the execution of over a hundred data scribes when they failed to procure one of the only significant writings of the great historian Magnuson the Arch-Archivist on Thoron. Venkov had even plunged into the sublevels of Archive IX on Epsilon Tharsis, to read through the nearly eight millennia old scrolls at the high cost of the lives of over a dozen acolytes and almost his cost him his own. He had devoted almost the entirety of his later years trying to find the Eternal Damnation and finally, he had found her. More importantly however, he had found out what lay within her darkened halls, at the space hulk’s very heart.

He turned away from the monstrous craft to assess the officers who were beginning to arrange around him. The high commanders of three Imperial Guard regiments with their attending staff formed a rigid semi-circle around the aging Inquisitor. There was Lord General Alexius of the Thoronian 347th Grenadiers, Lord Commander Dervius of the famed Sigma Tertius “54th Royals” and the Inquisitor’s own grandson, General Abraham Venkov of the 289th Colvone light infantry. General Venkov, a balding man pushing on fifty years old beamed at his grandfather with that insufferable round faced smile. Oh how he hated that man. The Grand Inquisitor ignored the General, instead choosing to stare at the increasing numbers of attending war staff on the bridge deck. “Gentlemen” he announced gesturing with one hand, “Here she is.” He smiled at his assembled officers. “Have any of you ever seen such a thing? Have you ever witnessed such, such utter majesty?”
He gazed around at the officers, some who nodded, others who remained blank faced and featureless. The inquisitor noted their reactions with slight annoyance. Surely this discovery warranted more of an emotional response than this? He turned away from them once more to gaze up at the Space Hulk. It filled the entirety of the glass dome above them. Immensity seemed to radiate out of every warp twisted piece of metal. Inquisitor Venkov continued to speak, “This vessel, this space hulk is the objective of our assault. It is the reason we are all here and possibly one of the most important discoveries in the Imperium’s great history. I wish for you all to understand both the gravity and importance of what we do here.” He breathed out and turned to face them again. “If one of you even dares to speak of failure, I will have you sent into the deepest part of this Hulk to rot in its warp corrupted depths. You would pray to the emperor for a quick death after a minute in there” he spat at them, “We will succeed, there is no other option here gentlemen, you will not let take from me my destiny… my legacy.”
The officers shifted uncomfortably under the Inquisitor’s piercing stare.
The Inquisitor turned to face the Eternal Damnation again.
“You’ve briefed your troops?” he asked in a quieter voice.
“Yes Lord Inquisitor” the officers replied.
“Good… then we shall begin.”


Well there is the opening of my newest short story, a prologue of sorts.
Just updated it guys, gonna continue tomorrow.
Enjoy!

Yes post more, I am curious to know what they can find and what stalks it's halls.

I say this has caugth my attention, we need much more!