In the darkness of a non-descript monitoring room a single red light blinked on. The operator sighed heavily, leaned forward and flicked the light, in the hopes it would extinguish as an error. It didn't. With another sigh, the operator heaved himself to his feet, and began to make his way towards the heavy doors at the other end of the room that led to his charges. He had taken no more than two steps when lights began flicking on at an ever increasing speed. Seconds later, all hundred were lit, casting an eerie glow into the room.
Panicky, the operator hit a control to alert his superiors to the problem, and entered the secured room. He recoiled in horror with what he could see before him. The remains of the humans that had occupied the amniotic tanks had flooded the tanks with their life blood. Taking a close look at the nearest tank, which should have contained a female, one he was quite partial to, when he could stand to enter the room. Her head was unrecognisable, almost like she had changed into a creature, her breasts were missing, not just gone but as thought they had never been there. Her legs were welded together, and had too many joints, were twitching as though they were a monstrous tail. As he gazed in revulsion, strange looking legs erupted from her hips.
A loud noise made the menial jump out of his skin, as he saw the glass shatter, and the room was awash with blood coloured amniotic fluid. The mutated human started writhing and hissing, as more tubes began shattering around him. Then, with another loud bang, her head exploded. A yellow hazard light started flashing, and a klazon wailed. He turned slightly to see what the issue was, and the large heavy doors were closing fast, and the blast proofing was lowering. Through the narrowing gap, he could see a shape, a human shape, with a single red eye, and a large calibre weapon. As the operator ran to the doors, he heard the figure speak, and it chilled him.
"Send word to all Imperial forces. Highest security rating. Assembly at the following co-ordinates, the Devourer is coming, and we must resist!"
"Yes Inquisitor. What about..."
The door slammed shut, and the operator hit it hard. His nose broken, blood flooding down his face, he turned. The sight left him in a pool of his own manufacture. Hissing abominations with the faces and skins of humans were staggering towards him. He screamed, loud and long. Turning, he scrabbled at the solid adamantium and ceramite, shredding his hands and fingers to bloody rags. Defeated, he slid down to the floor, and cried as panels in the walls opened, spewing long tongues of flame all around. The operator, along with his charges, was consumed in the conflagration.
Turning away from the sealed door, as cries from within ceased, the Inquisitor turned to his aide, "You must return to the ship, and get out of this system to summon aid. The Shadow of the Warp has hit while these souls were communicating. Return once you have replies from the nearest Astra Militarum forces, and an answer from the closest Astartes chapter. I have information saying there might be small forces of Black Dragons, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists and Scythes of the Emperor engaged is surrounding clusters. The Emerald Serpents are the closest Astartes force though. Use my authority with all Imperial forces."
"Yes lord. Where will I find you?"
"Organising these scientists and civilians into some form of cohesive force. Have Captain Cramer and his company report to the surface, and Tempestor Prime Smethwyke report with his platoon to the fixed place defenses. See if he can make a fortress out of this research station."
The Inquisitor and his aide left the carnage that was the astropathic chamber. The small research point gathering information on the boundaries that were little known areas of space was also developing medicines and vaccines to fight the plagues of zombies that terrorised neighbouring hive systems. The work was vital to the Imperium, and it would be a disaster should the station fall.
With preparations under way, the Inquisitor set to reporting to his superiors. This was not going to go well...
Edited by Damo1701, 14 January 2016 - 11:45 PM.