The frigid air almost freezes Veteran Sergeant Grimm’s enhanced lungs in his chest. He sits behind a snow rift looking down on a horrifying scene. What’s left of his company lays literally in pieces below him. Surrounding the massacre are menacing individuals in spiked power armor. He can almost hear the power armor screaming in defiance of the heresy committed to it. He surveys the scene with an expert eye looking for any way he could get revenge for his battle brothers.

He shifts his gaze to the machines used by the traitors. Those too have been defiled and he had heard stories of the vehicles themselves having limited sentience. That takes them out of the equation, as he would do no good to his departed brothers by getting caught. Oh, what’s this? He spies one of the heretics in gore spattered terminator armor rev up his chainsword. The heretic raises his arms high and bellows a name. Grimm can barely hear it but it sounds like “khorne” or something close.

The giant heretic begins systematically decapitating the dead scouts one by one. A servant follows and puts the heads in a gore soaked bag. The gruesome process plays out before a horrified Grimm. He says a prayer to the Emperor for every stroke of the chainsword. Finally the gruesome task ends and, what is this now? He’s laughing! The anger burns in Grimm like hot coals as he vows then and there to hurt this heathen and his brethren. The leader, for it is obvious now that he is just that, takes one of the skulls from the bag. Oh poor Elias, only a year into the scout program. He looks to be making the head talk like a gruesome puppet to his soldiers. They all have a merry laugh and head towards their vehicles.

Grimm, 78 years as Veteran Sergeant, is no stranger to his role and has most of the surrounding area memorized. He pulls out his data pad and checks once more for he needs to be sure. With the pad checked and confirmed he formulates a plan in his head. With a nod to himself and a prayer to the Emperor for luck he hoofs it back to his personal Landspeeder Storm. He sets the autonav and gets in the back to prepare his surprise. 20 soldiers of the Imperium had been slaughtered like so many cattle. But on his home planet of Fenris he learned to hunt as a small boy and he remembered the way to take down an enemy who has thick armor and outnumbers him. The Storm easily outdistances the armored column of traitors as it heads towards the entrance to the valley. Grimm finishes the modified explosives and hefts the pack of them on his back. He sets to work knowing time is of the essence.

The column of Khornites rolls up on the ice bridge at medium speed, wary of ambushes and avalanches. When Grimm feels they are too far on the ice bridge he pulls the hood of the camo cloak back to reveal his face and steps into the middle of the bridge. The column stops at the sight of him and the guns train, almost as if they control themselves. Now Grimm wonders if he thought wrong and prepares to dive for cover. But no, what is this, the lead Land Raider has stopped. The gamble worked! Grimm had noticed that none of his men had been shot. All had been cut up and beaten. Now to see what this leader looks like.

The leader is a monstrous former space marine. Grimm can still see a couple of service studs on his forehead. A fresh skull has been recently impaled on the spikes of his backpack. Grimm has no idea who it is but he says another prayer for the victim anyways. The leader strolls out the assault ramp and walks out 5 feet in front. “If you throw be the bag of skulls to me I will let you all leave with your lives!” yells Grimm across the bridge. The leader bursts into laughter after hearing the words and draws his bloodstained chainsword.

“I still have the gore of your weakling brothers on my chainsword puny space pup. But I admire your spirit. Not many Spacewolves would dare face down an entire column of Khornites. So I offer you this: Join us for the glory of the Blood God and I will only take one of your limbs.” Offers the leader of the column. For emphasis he revs the chainsword and points it at Grimm.

“I repeat, toss the bag of skulls to me and I may yet let you live. This is not a negotiation by Russ. Throw me the bag!” exclaims Grimm in what he hopes is his best command voice.

The leader turns to his servant and grabs the bag. His men begin to file out of the Land Raider and the rhinos pull up beside it as the men inside start looking for additional threats. The leader hefts the bag and pulls his arm back and launches it right at Grimm. Grimm is almost 20 feet away and barely dodges the bag as it whips right by his head. A feint he realizes as the leader charges in right after it.

“You want the bag you can have it! I will add yours to it next! Khhhoooornnnne!” Bellows the leader as he closes 10 feet in seconds, his eyes take a reddish haze. Grimm regains his balance and looks the leader right in the eye and hits the button on the pad in his hand. He then turns, grabs the bag, and leaps off the bridge. The explosives were rigged at both ends of the bridge and on the path leading to Grimm in case they just tried to run him down. The leader literally ran right into the blast but the tactical dreadnought armor saved him from real damage. Unfortunately for him and his entire column no armor yet has been made to withstand a 2 mile fall to the bridges bottom.

Grimm flies through the air for 20 feet then lands, very roughly, on his Storm hovering below. He shatters his ankles on impact but manages to hang on and crawl to the edge and watch the column fall into the valley. With the gore soaked bag firmly in his hand he yells down at the falling column.

“For Russ and the Allfather!”

“WAKE UP!” A disembodied voice cuts into Rickets mind like a hot knife. He can’t move any extremities. All he remembers is a fall that wouldn’t end.

“WAKE UP!” He should be dead. This he knows somehow above even the pain.

“WAKE UP!” His eyes open a fraction. He feels the ice trying to freeze them shut but perceivers. He is rewarded with more pain as the glare of the sun off the snow cuts into his vision.

“PUNY MORTAL. YOU LOST SOMETHING YOU OBTAINED FOR ME. TRICKED BY THE CORPSE GODS FOLLOWER. YOU WILL GET IT BACK FOR ME. YOU WILL, OR YOU WILL SUFFER A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH.” Commands the voice and Rickets knows fear for the first time in a thousand years. His mind races and he realizes that, while the question may kill him, it needs to be asked.

“Oh great Khorne,” he croaks. “How will I find him? I am sure he is long gone and I have no transport. He may escape off world.

“FOOL! DO YOU THINK I, YOUR GOD, HAVE NOT CONTEMPLATED THIS? I HAVE A WAY. I WILL SEND A REPRESENTATIVE TO HELP. PRAY TO ME. PRAY AS IF YOUR VERY EXISTENCE RELIES ON IT, AS IT DOES.”

Rickets prays like he has never prayed before, even going as far as wounding his already broken body to produce blood. As his blood droops hit the snow they plunge into the snow. Unbeknownst to him they melt all the way thru the 3 foot thick snow. As the blood drop hits the ground below a portal begins to form. It coalesces into an ethereal doorway from which emerges a Skulltaker.

The huge, glistening beast takes a look around as it emerges. It looks down on Rickets body. It beckons into the portal, and a daemon Rickets has never heard of or seen before comes out behind the Skulltaker. The Skulltaker points at Rickets and the odd beast stands over him. The Skulltaker draws its sword and cuts the creatures head off in one fluid motion.

The blood spills over Rickets broken body. It pools and congeals on his skin and seeps inside the armor. He starts to feel better and strength returns to his limbs. He blacks out again as the agony of bones knitting overwhelms him.

Time passes, and he regains consciousness. The Skulltaker stands over him and steps back as his eyes open again. The Skulltaker smiles a ghastly smile and talks in a gravelly voice:

“The great one has told me to provide you the means to find the space pup that took the gift. I have scoured the grounds and have found this.” It says and then opens its fist. Impossibly, one single blood drop has been perfectly preserved in a piece of ice. At this point Rickets realizes the portal is still open. The Skulltaker makes no apparent move but suddenly a large bestial dog steps thru the portal.

“This is the means to your end. This flesh hound will track him anywhere in the galaxy. Do not lose this hound or your life is forfeit. But I guess it is anyways,” it says and grins. “Now I must mete out your justly deserved punishment.”

Rickets body goes cold. A punishment from the gods was never a good thing, hell it wasn’t even a bad thing. It was just plain horrible. But to show fear or weakness would mean his destruction on the spot. With this in mind he moves and stands his full 9 foot height. He looks the Skulltaker right in the eye and proclaims:

“I failed the greatest of the gods. No punishment would be enough so do your worst.”

The Skulltaker nods in silent, was it admiration? No definitely not that Rickets thinks. It draws its sword and turning the tip to the sky holds it in a two handed grip. It spins the grip in its hand so the haft faces Rickets. He looks and realizes that the haft has an eye on it. Which opens up!

“YOU FAILED ME. YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL REFLECT THE LOSS. I WOULD TAKE YOUR SKULL BUT YOU WEAKLINGS NEED YOUR APPENDAGES. SO I WILL LET ALL KNOW YOU ARE MINE.”

With that said the eye shoots a concentrated gout of fire directly into Rickets face. It burns the skin and sinew right off of his skull leaving a perfect ring around his neck. His eyeballs pop in their sockets and he goes blind. His refusal to pass out and show weakness keeps him on his feet. The skin melts down his face like wax leaving the skull to shine below. It piles up on the snow below. The pain is extreme but after the initial shock Rickets realizes his vision is returning.

“THAT WAS YOUR PUNISHMENT. AND NOW, THE PUNISHMENT THAT YOU WILL GIVE TO THE SPACE PUP. I WILL IMPLANT A MEASURE OF MY POWER IN YOU.”

Like the impact of falling 2 miles, Rickets is knocked to his knees. Completely powerless he kneels towards the Skulltaker. The Skulltaker presses the eye of the haft into his forehead. Strangely there is no pain and after a couple of seconds the Skulltaker draws away. The eye is missing from the haft, and is now firmly implanted in Rickets forehead.

“LISTEN CAREFULLY MORTAL. YOU CARRY MY GIFT IN YOUR EMPTY SKULL NOW. YOU CAN FEEL HOW TO OPEN IT AND THAT IS GOOD. BUT YOU WILL NOT OPEN IT UNTIL YOU MEET YOUR ADVERSARY. DO AS I COMMAND.”

With that said the Skulltaker steps thru the gate and back to its realm. Rickets stands there for a few minutes contemplating all that has happened. The third eye, firmly closed, above his brow glows a dull red. His shining raw skull glistens in the dimming light. One final message from his god bids him on his way:

“YOU WILL WAGE A CAMPAIGN OF NEVERENDING CARNAGE UNTIL YOU RETRIEVE THAT WHICH WAS TAKEN FROM ME.”

No. Not again. No, this can’t be real. Spacewolf Captain Grimm thinks to himself as he looks down on the devastation. Just like 200 years ago his troops are slaughtered and their skulls taken. Just like before he was away scouting and getting a feel for the territory. Even though he has already experienced the scene the pain is once again real. He failed his troops, again. He stays at his vantage point just long enough to make sure it is vacant before he makes his way down.

100 years pass

Again! By the Emperor, no, not again! This time he left under different circumstances but the results are the same; a slaughtered company, missing their heads, leaving no evidence of who the attackers were. Or so whoever did it thought. Captain Grimm learns, usually the hard way, but he learns and adapts. He pulls out a small pad hidden in his armor and hits the button. A servo skull, hidden amongst the rocks, floats over to him. “Show me what happened,” he commands.

The skull hovers over to the dead Techmarine and Grimm grabs the discarded datapad. The skull beams the transmission and Grimm watches the horrific scene unfold. His troops were taken completely by surprise at night. The view the skull had was not the best but at least he can identify the attackers. Traitors! They dare to attack his men like dogs in the night. Oh, what’s this? The leader emerges into the light. At least he looks like the leader. The horrific visage makes identification of him easier down the road. He is 8 foot tall, no skin on his skull and glowing red lights for eyes and a third, closed, eye on its forehead. It looks somewhat familiar but Grimm can’t imagine ever forgetting an enemy with a skull for a head.

He watches the proceeding massacre of the already dead soldiers. He now sees that the creature, for a creature with a skull for a head can hardly be considered human, ceremoniously cut off the head of each marine. He stops and gets somewhat excited when he spies Grimm’s’ “brother” through gene seed. He lets out a howl and takes Grimms’ doppelganger head and holds it up. He says a prayer and then the two balls of light that pass for his eyes dim. Grimm can tell he is focusing inwards much like he had seen psykers do.

The third eye opens suddenly and examines the skull. It dims then closes. The creature begins to vibrate and tremble. It looks as if it’s in great pain and it falls to the ground and thrashes violently. The creatures accompanying it begin to chant as if they may be targeted next! After some reflection Grimm realizes that the creature must be after him. It made sense on some levels but absolutely none on others. After all, he watched the only culprit fall 2 miles and impact on hard ice. He doubted a Primarch could have survived the fall. So who then? Acolytes of whatever chaos spawn he insulted? With these thoughts swirling through his mind Grimm obtains a functioning transport and heads back to base.

Elsewhere...

“Make it convincing, or you die now,” the shadowed visage commands to the helpless scout marine. He looks so much like my prey thinks Rickets. I should kill him now. He looks over at the Dark Eldar Homunculus and nods. The Homunculus injects a purple serum into the skull of the scout marine and his visage becomes calmer. The Homunculus nods back at Rickets and the Khornite whispers what he wants the scout to say.

*****

I don’t see him anywhere, Grimm says to himself as he makes a circuit around the abandoned city. He stops his bike and pulls out a handheld sensor. He waves it in multiple directions trying to get a fix. He knows he has walked into a trap but has no idea when it will spring closed on him. He palms his insurance plan in his hand. He really didn’t want to use it, but would if he needed to. This massacre of his gene-brothers has to stop.

With an angry shake of his head he pops a wheelie in the direction of the center of town. He sets the throttle to max and drives down the main street at top speed hoping any hidden guns can’t track him. No shots greet his entrance nor chase his exit. He stops his bike behind a solid rock and checks the transmission again. He mentally curses himself as he realizes he landed on the wrong side of the planet! He reversed the coordinates by mistake in his programming of the shuttles landing zone.

He hops back in his shuttle and sets off for the right area. After a half hour he lands on the outskirts. Again he gears up but this time changes his load out somewhat. He never actually used his Terminator Honors he was granted and was somewhat annoyed with himself for it. No matter though, as he was born in scout armor, and he would die in it. He strips off the Power Armor and dresses himself in the venerable scout armor. He ties the camo cloak on last and with plasma pistol in hand he sets out.

*****

Where the hell is he, Rickets wonders to himself. He should be trussed up for torture right now. He detested the Eldar pirates but no-one could torture like them. Well, they do pale in comparison to his lord Khorne. His body was still healing from his last mistaken opening of the All Seeing Eye. That was when he decided an unorthodox approach was a better idea. Using his various contacts he tracked down the Homunculus and planned out his revenge.

Everything is perfect, or at least was, until his guest of honor went AWOL. He turns to his personal attendant and barks out orders to continue scanning. He turns back to the window and peers out wondering where his prey is.

*****

Whoever made the cities here was highly un-original Grimm thinks to himself as he creeps across the cliff tops. He stops crawling. There, movement at the window of the largest abandoned building. That’s the 3rd or 4th time he has seen the shape in the window. He has little doubt it is his antagonizer. It has to be that heretic from the ice planet, he thinks. The puzzle pieces all fit except how he survived a 2 mile fall. It must be the dark gods for they were strong, luckily the Emperor is stronger.

Grimm finally reaches his first waypoint and scans the area. The foolish heretics think they can hide in their horrible perverted Power Armor. He easily navigates through the outer perimeter of defense thanking the quartermaster for suggesting the camo cloak. He is now less than a hundred feet from his destination. He scans the area. He sees guards on the roof trying, unsuccessfully, to stay hidden. He sees the front entrance is guarded and thinks the rear entry would be guarded as well.

Hmm. So how would he spring the trap he wonders? If he is stalking me he should know I wouldn’t charge head in. No, he would expect me to sneak in and rescue the hostage. The hostage is definitely dead though. No reason to keep him alive. He reproaches himself for being callous and mentally begs the Emperors forgiveness. He stays put for 5 minutes watching the guards, looking for a different way in. He spies a vent under the overhang and decides it is his best bet, after all he can’t prove his brother is dead. He must be sure for if he is alive, Grimm would be honor bound to help him escape.

His mind made up, Grimm makes his way towards his point of approach.

Everything looks clear, Grimm says to himself from his perch. He takes a last look at the enemies below and enters the building through the fresh air ducting. He steps lightly, congratulating himself for not wearing the heavier Power Armor. On his hands and knees he crawls silently into the building. After 3 feet of crawling he finds the access door and exits the ducting into the mechanical room. After a quick look he sees no guards and silently leaps the 4 feet to the floor below. Too quiet, he thinks, and creeps over to the door and listens. He hears the stomping boots of a patrol in the hallway. After they quiet somewhat, he opens the door and takes a look into the hall. The deserted hallway increases his sense of foreboding. He hears a clamor at the other side of the floor and decides to head that way. He listens for the patrol and keeps himself just behind the boot sounds. He follows the patrol three quarters away around the floor until he thinks he is where he heard the noise.

He stops and listens at the door. He hears a rhythmic “tap, tap, tap” through it. He looks at the control pad and realizes the door will only open fully, so if he opens it he has to commit to going through. He hears the boots of the patrol stop and hears the faint rumbling voices checking in with their controller. He makes his decision. He hefts his 2 combat knives and hits the button for the door. It slides into the wall silently. Thanking the Emperor for small miracles Grimm creeps into the room.

He hits the button on the inside and the door slides shut behind him. The first thing that he notices is the stench of formaldehyde and other chemicals. The whole room glows an eerie green and it’s almost as if the light has a mind of its own the way it ebbs and flows across the surfaces of the room. What is this? He wonders to himself while sneaking around the perimeter of the room keeping his eyes peeled for threats. He hears some muted muttering as he nears the back of the room and sees a tall lithe creature bending over a chair.

“Amazing, how can such simple brains accomplish so much?” Grimm hears the voice speak but does not understand the words. “Oh there we go, I got it.” The voice continues as Grimm hears a horrible suction sound. The creature turns and holds a human brain above its head in triumph. It then notices Grimm less than 2 feet away with a look of loathing on his face.

Grimm realizes the creature has killed his gene-brother and pulled his brain out. Rage boils in him, do these xeno scum have no limits? No honor? No matter, for he will die now. Grimm steps forward and drives his combat knife through the surprised creatures’ skull. He stabs the other into its mid-section. He steps back and kicks it in the chest as hard as he can. The creature drops the brain and tumbles backwards over the chair and onto its back. As quick as he can Grimm runs around the other side and savagely kicks the creature in its face to prevent it from calling out. He pulls his knife out of its chest and steps back to assess the situation. The creature is not dead! It’s attempting to stand with the other combat knife embedded up to its skull up to the hilt.

Grimm realizes the creature has killed his gene-brother and pulled his brain out. Rage boils in him, do these xeno scum have no limits? No honor? No matter, for he will die now. Grimm steps forward and drives his combat knife through the surprised creatures’ skull. He stabs the other into its mid-section. He steps back and kicks it in the chest as hard as he can. The creature drops the brain and tumbles backwards over the chair and onto its back. As quick as he can Grimm runs around the other side and savagely kicks the creature in its face to prevent it from calling out. He pulls his knife out of its chest and steps back to assess the situation. The creature is not dead! It’s attempting to stand with the other combat knife embedded up to its skull up to the hilt.

Grimm looks around the room for a different weapon, and with an evil smile hefts a pair of serrated shears. He opens and closes them a couple times and makes his way behind the creature. Even though Grimm kicked its bottom jaw almost right off (it’s still attached by a flap of skin) the creature looks at him and makes a “hucking” sound. It reaches over and grabs a syringe.

The two combatants walk a slow circle of death, each looking for an opening. The desperate creature, even though it can’t feel pain, can sense its life slowly fading and commits first. It lunges leading with the syringe hand, a creepy half howl coming from its shattered mouth. Grimm, veteran of countless campaigns, calmly turns to let the creature fly by him and shears its arm off at the elbow.

“You perform horrific experiments on the Emperor and Russ’ warriors. For that and more I condemn you to death vile creature.”

The creature loses its balance trying to use a hand that is no longer there to stop its fall. It tumbles onto its front and Grimm puts a boot on its back, and with a snip of the serrated shear, disembowels the Homunculus. He reaches down and attempts to pry his combat knife out of its skull. He realizes he won’t be able to get it off and simply uses it as a handle. With his grisly trophy he makes his way back to the door. He listens for the patrol and hears it approaching. It passes and he counts to 20 then hits the button. He peeks around and sees the backs of the guards continue their circuit down the hall. With a quick prayer for his fallen brother he exits the room back into the hall.

***** Where is he?? Rickets, already barely able to control his temper, sits at the window waiting for some word from his guards. He holds the skull of Grimms’ last gene-brother he killed. He rolls it through his hand trying to stay calm. He has noticed he is losing touch with other marines and humanoids. He feels unease at this, as no one wants to fall victim to chaos fully lest they lose their identity. While not scared of anything due to his new power, he was scared of what would happen when he opened the All Seeing Eye of Khorne on the proper victim. What would happen? He hears the entrance to his chamber open and, without turning, says to the room at large:

“Doctor this had better be the skull you promised me. I need it to show this upstart and make him angry.”

He hears no reply but hear’s something impact and roll to his feet. He looks down to see the head, combat knife embedded in the crown, down at his feet. He swiftly turns and presses the button on the keypad in his hand. The sound of whirring machinery washes over the building. The floor rumbles and Grimm takes a knee to keep his balance. He turns to run from the room, but the first thing that happened was the locking of all doors. His antagonizer stands as still as a statue. Somewhat hesitantly he opens the third eye. Grimm stands transfixed as the third eye opens. Rickets falls to his knees screaming with his own eyes closed tight. As the eye sweeps over him Grimm can feel a pressure from the gaze. Abruptly the eye dims and closes. Rickets falls forward onto his stomach. Grimm, puzzled, looks for an escape. He Grabs his bolt pistol and fires into the floor and roof. No effect is seen so he simply stands and watches for a sign of life from Rickets. Rickets feels pain like no other. He thought opening the eye for the wrong victim hurt, but it had nothing on this. He feels his limbs begin to change and the popping of joints out of place. His mind begis to spin and a new darker consciousness begins to take over.

YOU FOUND HIM MY YOUNG FAILURE. CONGRATULATIONS, FOR YOUR TIME IN THE REALM OF THE LIVING IS OVER. YOU HAVE FOUND YOUR PREY. I WILL NOW GIVE YOU THE HIGHEST BLESSING I CAN BESTOW. WELCOME TO YOUR NEW FORM AH HA HA HA HA

Grimm watches in muted horror as Rickets body contorts and changes shape. His skin darkens to blood red and horns pop from his skull. His mass triples and his armor pops off with force, a vambrace almost takes Grimms head off and he leaps behind a desk for cover. At about the same time the machinery stops and the walls drop away. Grimm realizes he has been imprisoned in some sort of cage. He looks down at the assembled Khornites. They all chant the name of their dark god and watch in rapt fascination. He stands and sucks in his breath at the sight before him.

Rickets takes a step forward in his new body. After the transformation a sword materializes in his hand. Transformation complete Khornes newest Skulltaker steps forward. He swings the sword back and forth satisfied with its weight and balance. He points it at Grimm.

“You die now little man. I will hold your skull and revel in your death. You have nowhere to run and I’m sick of your hiding.”

“The only one who will die is you fiend,” says Grimm with conviction. Armed with combat knife and pistol he looks puny in comparison and his words make him appear to be all bluster. The assembled Khornites laugh and mock him.

In the blink of an eye the Skulltaker rushes Grimm and with supernatural speed he grabs Grimm by the throat and lifts him up for all to see. Grimm tries to stab the arm but his knife will not penetrate. Powerless, and knowing it, he flicks his wrist as he drops his knife. He catches the small object that falls. The triumphant Daemon turns in the cage and displays the marine and addresses the crowd:

“Witness the power and strength of Khorne! Know that he is real and his power absolute!”

Grim looks down at the daemon and asks the daemon a question:

“What will your god do to you when you don’t have a skull to give him?”

The last thing he sees before he sets off the void grenade is a look of incomprehension. Grimm is vaporized along with everything in a 50 foot radius.

FINIS