WH40K: The Truth of a Radical

[Kuja]

A fairly short 40K story. Enjoy.



THE TRUTH OF A RADICAL

-by Inquisitor Kristania Veritas, Ordo Xenos

I am an Inquisitor in the service of His Divine Majesty, the Emperor. As such, I am a member of the most elite organization in the whole of the galaxy. I have the power to go wherever I wish, to take control of entire armies, to summarily execute anyone who I deem to be possessed of heretical thoughts. In the direst of situations, I can order the destruction of an entire world. Ordinary people look upon me with awe and fear and amazement, for I am an Inquisitor, and what is a normal man compared with that?

Yet many of my peers look down upon me with scorn and contempt. Some whisper that I have become what I hunt; that I am a heretic myself. Some openly declare to me that I am walking an unwavering path towards ruin.

I tell you now, THIS IS NOT SO! I pray to the Emperor upon awakening and before sleep. I praise his name as surely as any puritan would. With every breath and thought, I fight the enemies of the Emperor. Why then, am I treated with such disdain?

I will tell you why. I am a radical. Unlike the puritans who shudder at the thought of consorting with a psyker, or those who shrink away from the warp-touched, I freely reach out and recruit such people to my cause. And they fight alongside me for the Emperor as surely as any pure-born human would.

I write this testament because I am often asked what persuaded me to adopt the lifestyle of a pariah. Many of those who were once close to me are the ones most confused. You see, I was once a puritan. I believed that all mutants and psykers were rightfully the bane of society. After all, they had been touched by the warp, had they not? And who could trust such a person? Then, my attitude was changed completely. It happened during the orkish invasion of the hive world Beritan in the year 942 of the 41st Millenium.

It was a dark time for the Imperium. Fifty light-years away, the hive world Armageddon was fighting for its life against the ork warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. The Segmentum Solar was suffering the brunt of dozens of ork attacks as many lesser warlords followed the lead of the infamous Ghazghkull. Some speculated that a full-blown invasion was underway. Little did we know then that it was only the preclude to the true assault.

I was a full-fledged Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, though I was still somewhat inexperienced. I was traveling to Beritan because I had spent the last five years of my life learning how to kill orks. I was needed. In those days, I was forty-seven, though thanks to juvenat treatments and the stimm work that nearly every Inquisitor goes though, I looked nearly half my age, young enough to hand a big surprise to anyone who thought I was a pushover. I had not yet lost my arm. My hair was flame red and my eyes were bright green (I realize this may be difficult for some to picture, since I have had my augmentics for so long). I wore the signet ring of my Ordo on my right hand and proudly displayed my rosette over my heart. I was every inch the proud Inquisitor, dedicated to the Emperor, the Imperium, and my holy task of cleansing.

Before my story begins in earnest, I must ask you to make a consideration. My last name is Veritas, the High Gothic word for truth. Some have said that there are many kinds of truth. More than one heretic that I have hunted has said in their defense that the Imperium follows its own distorted truth and blinds itself to the real truth – the 'true truth' if you will. I do not believe that. I believe that the truth is simply a concept too difficult for an ordinary mortal to grasp. If we were all like the immortal Emperor, truth and falsehood would be easy to distinguish. But, since we are not, we are only capable of grasping a very limited sense and hanging onto it with all our might.

This story is my small piece of truth.

The truth of a radical.

[Zaia]

A fairly short 40K story. Enjoy.

*applauds* Wow, you were right, that was a short story!



Seriously, am definitely looking forward to more. As you already know.

PS: Aww, lost an arm?! Noooooooo!!

[Lindar]

well...all in all... not bad. Not sure what to expect*grins a bit about the char description, would so say something, but prefers to stay out of hot water just yet heh* I guess it could get interesting though.
*moves camp from point A to point B, and sets up* we'll see.

[LadyTevar]

Short story. RIIIIIGHT.

So, what happens on the planet to turn him into a Pariah?

[Kuja]

Short story. RIIIIIGHT.

So, what happens on the planet to turn him into a Pariah?

Her, her. Kristania is a woman. And I can't tell you, it would be giving everything away!

[LadyTevar]

Short story. RIIIIIGHT.

So, what happens on the planet to turn him into a Pariah?

Her, her. Kristania is a woman. And I can't tell you, it would be giving everything away!

I was trying to hint that you needed to write the next one

[Zaia]

Yeah! *pokes* We want more! (This is what you get for finishing off NS ).

[2000AD]

Good old Radicals, not afraid to use the tools at their disposal, unlike their Puritan bretheren.

Let's hope some idiot Mono-dominant inquisitor doesn't end this story quick.

[DocHorror]

Looks good, though the character seems to be on a bit of a high horse. IMHO , and this is just my opinion, I tend to prefer characters who seem to speak out to the reader as though they are on the same level. Eg Eisenhorn and Ciaphas Cain.

[Singular Quartet]

Inquisiter's are high and mighty. I thought she stated that very well, as she can kill heretics, and if nessicary, order entire planets immoliated. You're aloud to be able to talk down to people.

[Zaia]

Looks good, though the character seems to be on a bit of a high horse.

Well no wonder, considering who he's basing the character on.

[DocHorror]

Thats true, Inquisitors are far above regualr citizens of the Imperium. Though I was talking from a readers point of view. Its hard to gain any emphathy with a character if they seem to be talking down to the reader all the time.

But hey it still good, Im just giving my 2 cents.

[Rogue 9]

"Fear not the psyker."

[NecronLord]

Inquisiter's are high and mighty. I thought she stated that very well, as she can kill heretics, and if nessicary, order entire planets immoliated. You're aloud to be able to talk down to people.

I am a C'tan. I've killed entire star-clusters for shits and giggles. She should be talking to me as though to her superior.

...what?

[Kuja]

I had intended to join the fight on Beritan by going to meet with the governor of Hive Corvinas and using my previous experience fighting orks to help plan an overall strategy. By the time I arrived in orbit, the hordes of greenskins were in the process of laying siege to the hive. Despite the valiant efforts of the Planetary Defense Forces and the local Imperial Guard, the foul orks had already penetrated into the outer layers of the sprawling habitation. From my transport, the situation looked dire indeed, but not lost. I knew that my companions and I could make a difference if we got into the fray soon enough.

When an orkish surface-to-air missile struck the engines of my transport, I knew that we would be getting into the fray much sooner than intended. To the credit of my pilot, he held us steady, keeping us from crashing headlong into the horde of orks below us. "Brace yourselves!" I ordered, and the members of my entourage scrambled to find support. The transport careened downwards, our belly scraping the outer wall of the hive and killing a few dozen orks who had the misfortune of being there at the time. Inside, we were all thrown about wildly as my pilot finally lost control. The ship yawed to one side and dropped like a stone. We glanced off one building before our starboard side slammed into the ground. Our momentum caused us to bounce back up into the air before again nose-diving into the pavement. When we finally came to a rest, we were stuck well inside the contested area of the hive.

Knowing the orks would be on us if we waited too long, I gathered myself and checked for injuries. It hurt to breathe, but none of my ribs felt broken. I had gotten off lucky. Our pilot had been crushed to death inside the cockpit when we'd struck the ground the second time. "Let me hear you!" I called out. Only two voices answered. One was Benjamin Grouse, an ex-guardsman from Cadia whom I'd recruited three years before. The other was Michael Divinas, a former bounty hunter. My chief interrogator Rohan, my savant Mairy, and the tech-priest Lestar had all been killed during the crash. I said a quick benediction for all of them, then threw open the hatch and led my remaining followers into the streets of Corvinas.

The hive had been torn apart, which was unsurprising when one considered what was invading. "We need to move quickly," I said.

Michael nodded and pointed to the distant rise of the governor's palace. "That way."

"Let's go," I replied.

As we started moving, Ben took the safety off his lasgun and motioned for us to do the same. I drew my bolt pistol and checked to ensure that the clip was full. Simultaneously, I tapped the activation rune on the hilt of my chainsword and was satisfied by the short whine it made in reply. Michael was the most heavily armed out of the three of us, bearing a dangerous plasma pistol and a cord of frag grenades. We all wore body armor. However, I knew that it would not last us if we ran into the orks. I said a short prayer to the Emperor, hoping that the greenskins had not deployed any of their elite forces, the kommandos. If we happed to cross paths with a squad of them, we would be dead, pure and simple.

We ran as quickly as we were able, dodging in and out of piles of debris, all the while listening to the sounds of far-off battle. Then we turned a corner and found them. There were ten of them. Full-grown orks, each armed with one of their typical slapdash weapons: axes, shootas, gunz, and other such items. In panic, I shouted, "Open fire!" The three of us raised our guns simultaneously and pulled our triggers. Ben's lasfire burned the ork had targeted but failed to put it down. My bolt hit low of where I had intended, shattering the shoulder of the biggest ork, but also failing to kill it. Michael's shot was the most successful, the blue ball of plasma vaporizing the ork he aimed at.

Despite their shock at the suddenness of the attack, the orks rallied quickly. "HUMIEZ!" one of them shouted, and they all moved to attack.

I didn't need to make calculations; if we stayed and fought, we were dead. "Run!" I yelled, and we darted back the way we came, poorly-aimed fire bracketing us. We led the orks on a furious chase through the streets of Corvinas. Michael ran in front, with me right behind him and Ben staying back, every once in awhile spinning to fire a shot at our pursuers.

We couldn't dodge forever. I felt a slug graze my leg and stumbled almost at the same time that Ben took a bolt to the back. He was dead by the time he hit the ground. Down on one knee, I turned and fired. This time, my shot was right on the mark, the bolt flying straight into the ork's mouth and detonating. Michael came back for me, shouting something incoherent as his plasma pistol vaporized yet another ork. Realizing which of us was more dangerous, the orks fired back. Michael was shot over and over again. By the time he fell, he hardly looked human anymore.

I resigned myself to death and drew my chainsword, determined to die with the Emperor's name on my lips and the blood of His enemies on my blade. Without conscious thought, I threw myself forward and struck. My chainsword cleaved the lead ork in two even as I put a trio of bolts into the next closest. The remainder roared in anger, but they were bunched too closely for them to fight me effectively. I struck, and struck, and struck again, losing myself in the haze of battle. Black ork blood covered my sword as well as my clothes, but I could not fight forever.

The blow took me by surprise. The last of the orks had left his companions to die by my hand while he dropped his gun and drew a heavy club. Had he chosen to shoot me, I would not be writing this, but the stupidity of your average ork worked in my favor, although it certainly didn't feel like it then. The impact broke my sword arm and knocked me to the street. As I fell, I lost control of my chainsword, and the furiously roaring weapon tore open my midsection. I may have screamed as I dropped the weapon; I cannot remember. The ork stood over me and raised his club, no doubt intending to smash my skull flat. As he did so, however, gunfire rang out. The ork staggered as he was shot in the back multiple times, then his weight took over and he fell backwards, out of view.

My next sight was that of a human, but my vision had gone blurry with the pain, and I could not even tell whether it was male or female. They said something that sounded distant, then grasped my broken arm. In the wash of pain, I blacked out.

[Lindar]

Blood!*glees* More blood!!!*waits to find out who the rescuer is*

[LadyTevar]

Once again, Kuja, your battle scenes are wonderful, pulling us in without overdosing us.

[Rogue 9]

Blood!*glees* More blood!!!*waits to find out who the rescuer is*

Blood for the blood god? Why Lindar, I never suspected this of you.

[Lindar]

Blood!*glees* More blood!!!*waits to find out who the rescuer is*

Blood for the blood god? Why Lindar, I never suspected this of you.

*raises an eyebrow* Blood god? Who you kidding? it smells good...*wrinkles nose with a chuckle, and grabs the tongue that was stuck out* And as long as I'm not the one spilling it (either way heh) then it's fun.

[Zaia]

Ooooh, most excellent.

[Singular Quartet]

While not a worshiper of the Blood God, I do like the smell/taste of blood. Granted, it's only because I own cats...

[fgalkin]

More! More! More! More!

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[GeneralTacticus]

Minor nitpick: IIRC, Ork blood is red, not black. It used to be green, but this was altered at some point because it looked rather crappy on miniatures.

Other than that, great stuff - I look forward to seeing more

[Kuja]

Minor nitpick: IIRC, Ork blood is red, not black. It used to be green, but this was altered at some point because it looked rather crappy on miniatures.

IIRC, Codex Tau says that an ethereal who spent a full night fighting orks up close was covered in "black blood". But anyway, the blood can still be red, yet dark enough to look black at a quick glance.

[Rogue 9]

Tolkien's orcs had black blood. I don't know about 40K ones.