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The ships reactor was working. The captain sitting at their throne felt the reactor working as pulsing of their own heart. Obviously they had ascended their humanity being a part of their ship, as much as their ship was a part of them. The captain hardly remembered how they once were walking on their own feet.
He felt the imperial guardsmen of the regiment, they were tasked to help and deliver to the planet of Ipabog 6. The reason for which the foot-slogers were going there was of no importance neither to the captain nor to most of the crew. They were just doing their job as part of the imperial navy. A sudden noise, a message. Who would bother him the chosen of the omnysiah. The reactors spiked for a moment. But as he noticed that it came from the superior engineseer in the ship he decided to check what was so important to deserve their attention. Apperantly the astropat had noticed a tear into the real space not too far of their current location. Together with the Senior servant of the Omnysiah they were curious on whazt could cause the tear and were asking for permission to exit back into real space. To the captain this was of no importance, but if the priesthood of the Omnysiah was interested in the warp tear, then they were more than willing to oblige.
***
1 hour later Manus Dei enters back into real space.
Colonel Ivanov went to the bridge of the ship.
‘May I ask, if we have arrived to our destination?’ The ship `s throne shifted so the colonel can see the captain.
‘We haven`t, colonel but something irregular have happened and we had to re-enter real space’ the answer unsettled the colonel.
‘Shall I ready my men?’ - be prepared for the worst was something that they told him when he was promoted to the rank of regimental command.
The silence that fell upon the bridge was short lived as a spurt in binary that came from the captain, another spurt to answer as a couple of techpriests came on the bridge.
‘Yes you should, colonel, prepare your best and we will form a couple of killteams to check on the reason of why we are in real space.’ said one of the adepts. There was something strange with what was said, it took him some time to pinpoint it, but he managed to find the reason the tech priest had unnerved him. Th speech that came wasn’t augmented, wasn’t from vox as most of their cult, no it was that of a regular humans.
‘But why are we even here? Where is here to begin with? What should we…’
‘Show him captain’ said the adept with the human voice. What the colonel saw unnerved him, after fighting against heretics and nids in the past 14 years this was something new to him, and probably to his whole regiment.
‘Isn`t this a work for terminators?’
‘it i…’
‘Then why us?’ the adept being interrupted before he could finish the sentence shot him a glare
‘We have no Astartes with us, your men will have to suffice. Aren’t they amongst the Emperor`s finest warriors?’
Ivanov said nothing, it seems nothing would change the mind of the captain and the adepts of the cult Mechanicum.
***
In the storage depots sitting around the a munitorum crate 4 people played cards. The rest of 2nd company sat around them looking at how things were going. Rumen felt that they`re back in real space.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready for action?’ smile on his lips as he said it, most of you probably felt it too, ‘get yourself ready we goin` ta get inspection most likely.’ From the crowd came murmurs.
nbsp‘You just trying ta get away before ye lost errything’ a hand grabbed the right sleeve of the tall trooper, as Rumen looked right he could see the dark smile of his sergeant.
‘You got me serg!’ was all that Rumen could say before the regimental commissar could enter the storage depot ‘will finish this one after we are done with this ok?’ the sergeant gave the nod of approval.
‘Second company! First and second squads come with me’ when the words of the commissar sank into his mind he understood - this is going to be dangerous. Picking up his mk5 lasgun and backpack, he saw his squad mates pickup their equipment too, the short Boris with his demo charges and small stub-gun, the lanky Ognian with his long-las, and then there was the squad`s scout and and “The smile” Vladimir with his modified shotlas. One day the “smile” wouldn’t be around and things would be pretty terrible without the crazy youngster.
Manus Dei wasn`t that big ship of a ship, only an Oberon class Battleship but it still took their merry group of individuals to get to the briefing room and see the Major Deneva and Colonel Ivanov. The short woman was sitting by the cogitator talking to a kogboy, when the 12 people in dirty white armor and sky blue fatigues, most of them in flack armor, the sergeants in carapace armor. When she spoke to refer them all she had to say was:
nbsp‘Sit!’ when everybody was seated, a holo image flickered, showing what looked like an amalgamation of space ships – some undoubtedly Imperial in origin while other looked almost glass-like thin and elegant. ‘What you are seeing is a space hulk, since people of higher power have decided they want to see what is in it, here come you fine people. You are to enter into the space hulk together with a group of adepts you will get in check what is there and get out. Don’t do anything too stupid and above your pay grade.’ Everybody smiled when she mentioned their wages, while not too much they were enough for when they were on a world with more commodities to get somethings for themselves, whether they would purchase drinks, cigars, porn filled data slates or would pay to satiate their lust, regardless of them not being on a “leisure” world everybody liked to have some money on them, how would one make bets without Thrones or Credits?
The Ivanov broke the silence that came after the major finished talking: ‘This is usually a job for the terminator squads in the space marine chapters, thus you will be equipped with carapace armor to make sure most of you come back, after the briefing is over visit the armory and ask from Monika to give you the pressure carapaces...’ Rumen had always wanted to try a carapace armor like the one that sergeants in the 1st and 2nd companies wore. What brought him back to reality was the colonel`s words: ‘…if you don’t bring the carapace over intact you wouldn’t face a punishment.’ you will be too dead for punishment. Was what loomed in the air over their heads. ‘any questions?’
nbsp‘Yes’ said the old ‘Half face’ the leader of his squad ‘why us? Sir you said that this is the work of terminators right?’
nbsp‘What is the moto of out regiment, sergeant?’
‘Age quod necessest. Do what is necessary, sir!’
‘Then you know why sergeant. I will be honest with you I also greatly dislike this…’ the colonel waved his hand towards the hololithic image ‘…thing, but if the Emperor is willing it would not take too much time and you will come back safely.’ When the officer mentioned the emperor every person in the room made the Aquila sign their hands except the kogboi who made the kog with a mechadendrite.