Chapter 18 Part 4
Chapter 18: Kronus: Aftermath
=ATBS=
Part 4
=ATBS=
His Holy Light
Dauntless Class Light Cruiser Temple Ship
en route to Kronus
Missionary Wolf gathered the principal leaders of his expedition into one of the many chapels spread throughout the Temple Ship. This particular temple was the nearest to the hangar, and its location made it very useful as a meeting and briefing room.
As a bonus, thanks to all the blessed artifacts and frequent prayers of the deck-hands, the chapel offered a layer of protection against divination from hostile forces. The Sanctioned Psykers claimed so at any rate. While Jacob had no way to know if that was true, it sounded right. He knew for a fact that prayer and faith had very real and tangible power, so why not help in this manner too?
Four of his fellow Missionaries, the leader of the Confessors, the Captain of the Militia who volunteered to come and save Kronus, and several Sororitas sat on the low benches, said their prayers, and waited for Wolf to begin the meeting. He waited for the Priest taking care of this particular temple to bless them all and slowly inhaled the reassuring smoke of burning incense spiced up by holy oils.
"… the Emperor Protects!" The Priest proclaimed gleefully and bowed his head, making the sign of the Aquila.
Everyone stood up and responded in kind, their voices echoing off the walls.
"I'll leave you to your divine work, Missionary!" Father Brown waved at the gathered leaders and walked out of the Chapel in a swirl of stained robes.
Jacob waited until the Priest was out of sight, and for the Sisters of Battle guarding the entrance to confirm that no cheeky bastard was listening. When he got the all-clear, he went to the altar, taking a central stage, and looked grimly at his colleagues.
"You've all seen the recordings and read the reports." The contents of those documents were another reason why they met in a Chapel. Going over them extracted a lot of curses from Wolf's throat. Jacob found himself muttering all the prayers praising the Emperor he knew. Wolf hoped that most of the claims in those reports were true. Must, but certainly not all.
Sullen murmurs answered him. No one was particularly happy about what they learned. Sister Weber, the Palatine in charge of their Sororitas contingent was less thrilled than most. Her only son was entangled in this mess of miracles, heresy, and insanity. The Commissar was up to his neck in trouble. Or he deserved all the praises, thanks, and prayers Wolf's expedition could heap upon him.
The same was true about almost everyone down there!
"This should be straightforward." Confessor Klein Abel grumbled. His dark eyes stared into Wolf's souls with almost frightening intensity. "Or so it would appear to some of our more over-zealous colleagues." The crafty bastard smirked.
Abel was an experienced defender of the faith, who was almost as large and dangerous in close quarters as Jacob. His sharp mind and zealous defense of the Imperial Creed caught the eye of the Ecclesiarchy a few decades ago when he served as a Naval Armsman on one of the Temple Ships. Wolf didn't know all the details. However, to the surprise of everyone involved, Abel turned out to be a surprisingly open-minded and understanding individual. While he would protect the Faith with his life and even soul if it came to it, Abel was more interested in saving people's souls and helping them. In contrast, a more stereotypical Confessor would busy themselves purging and burning potential heretics, and punishing those following the Church's tenets to the letter.
The Confessor was also one of Cardinal Lin's protegees, which explained a lot, in Jacob's humble opinion.
"They'll be frothing at the mouth and screaming that Kronus must be purged with fire, yesterday." Wolf allowed himself a brief moment of levity, something he wouldn't have dared in the presence of more tradition-bound members of the Ecclesiarchy. His experience as a Missionary kept his eyes open for the realities of the world, which was something that factions within the Munitorum frowned upon. Those were the same factions who would gleefully purge all too many worlds on the frontiers of Imperial space for both real and imaginary sins.
And that was why the Cardinal offered Wolf handpicked people for this expedition. They were supposed to save Kronus and its citizens, instead of turning the planet into a crematorium. Unfortunately, the reports coming from the surface made their goals much harder than they should have been.
"One of those days, your mouth will get us all in trouble, Jacob." Amelia Argent gently admonished him with her motherly voice.
The old woman was another proof of how atypical their expedition was. Amelia was a former Medicae serving the Imperial Guard, who lived long enough to retire and dedicate her twilight years to spreading the Emperor's Word. Most of the expedition's leaders had similar backgrounds – Guard, Navy, it didn't matter. They were all veterans and they knew the world outside of the centers of the Faith.
"I'll be steadfast in my attempt to curb my tongue before it could get any of you into too much trouble, Amelia," Jacob said in amusement, before sobering up. "You were saying, Abel?"
"It should be straightforward. We've got at least two Inquisitors on the ground, Ordo Xenos. It's their job to deal with the alien. Out here on the fringes, many Rogue Traders and Inquisitors are running around with Xeno mercenaries, equipment, or both. They're all legit and beyond reproach." Abel rolled his eyes. "In theory anyway. We've all heard the sermons against such things. Why I listened to one of them this morning!"
There was that of course. No one sane was going after Inquisitor or Rogue Trader plying their trade, even when doing so involved distasteful methods. In reality, some zealots tried their best to paint the whole Ecclesiarchy as unreasonable, often insane fanatics. When those were around, all bets were off. That, of course, meant that elements of their organization would happily see them all burnt on a stake for not being dutiful, zealous, and vigorous enough in executing their duties… and he went on a tangent that was best kept in the privacy of one's mind.
"There is a Living Saint down there or the next best thing, thank you very much!" The distinct high-pitched voice of Robert Bruce, a fellow Missionary, cut through the air. The tall, frail-looking man came from a moon with low gravity and it showed. While he could handle standard Terran gravity, doing so ate at his endurance, and it was much worse when working on high-gravity worlds.
Bruce met such challenges with a smile and prayer, claiming they were mere tests from the Emperor. Either that or fuck-ups and lack of consideration by their superiors.
"There are such indications, yes." The quiet voice of Titus Questus added. The short brown-skinned man was a testament to Faith's success. He had been born on a feral world just as the Imperium began its effort to reclaim the place. Now, he traveled the stars, spreading the Emperor's Word far and wide. "However, we all know the odds of Inquisitor Veil receiving official recognition anytime soon are remote."
Even if everyone agreed someone was a Saint, pushing through the paperwork to make it official could take decades or even centuries. When some people disagreed, and Wolf was sure many would do so, in this case, it could take much longer. Either that or an uncommonly distinguished career.
"Sister Weber, you've been unusually silent as of late?" Amelia suddenly changed the topic.
"You know I'm biased and personally involved in this." The Palatine's voice was bitter.
"That's why I'll be taking you with me when I go to the surface to find out what's true, what's a fabrication, and what hasn't made it to the reports for one reason or another. It might have been years since you met your son last, however, you're the only one we have on board who knows anyone down there. Your familiarity with the lad might be vital in making certain if the locals are compromised or not."
"I'll do my best in the Emperor's name." Sister Weber nodded stiffly. She had a grave, yet determined expression on her face.
"I appreciate your aid. I'll have a squad of your Sisters accompany you. The rest of you will monitor what happens on the surface and act accordingly if something unfortunate happens. But first, I want to hear your honest thoughts on the situation..."
"Kronus is crawling with Xenos. Just like at least a few dozen worlds in this sector alone." The Confessor began. "That's why the Cardinal sent us. He knows that the situation out here isn't as clear cut as deeper within the Imperium, where it's safer, and save for the Orks, there are hardly any Xenos running around. Yet, he hasn't sent us here to purge everyone who had dealings with the alien."
"We need to get down there and figure out the truth, ASAP." Amelia butted in. "There are hundreds of thousands of sick people in need of help. They will either need our aid or the Emperor's Mercy. We need to figure out which, and act, quickly."
"I agree," Questus stated firmly. "We have to bring the citizens on Kronus back into the fold. By all accounts, the Emperor brought the planet itself into his light himself." His eyes sparkled with happiness at the very thought.
Soon enough, Wolf had everyone's agreement. Even the Captain of the Militia, who otherwise kept his thoughts to himself. The harder part would be to convince their people their chosen course of action would be for the best. Not all of them were as open-minded as they were, and wasn't that a contradiction.
After all, an open mind was a fortress with its gates wide open. Yet, a closed one could be a void-ship flying without a Navigator. Neither was a particularly desirable outcome.
"We will be firm in our faith and endure this test." Ronald continued. "We won't let Xenos lead us astray from the Emperor's light, even if this time it means enduring their presence instead of purging it."
"That's certainly a nice way to put it!" Abel laughed.
=ATBS=
General Alexander's HQ
Victory Bay
Kronus
A hololith came to life with a flicker of bright light and soon displayed several vaguely familiar symbols.
"Those are the Cruisers Blessed Blade, Naginata, and Gryphon." Captain Ignatius explained. You'll note they're approaching in a wedge formation with their escorts spread in front of them sweeping for nasty surprises. The transports are moving at a much slower pace guarded by a destroyer flotilla."
"This isn't an escort formation, but an assault one." Captain Thule summarized our newest brand of trouble.
"I can use a drink or ten," I stated blandly while staring at the hologram. It also showed the approach of the Temple ships. They approached Kronus at a reasonable pace, and in a standard defensive formation.
The Emperor Botherers were either willing to be reasonable, which I still had trouble wrapping my head around, or they were attempting to be sneaky. The current agreement was they would come to see me for themselves before deciding what to make of us.
Our reinforcements, on the other hand, apparently didn't like the contents of our reports. I wish I could blame them. In their shoes, I would be suspicious like hell as well.
"Options?" I asked while trying to sound calm and confident.
"Our Naval elements in orbit are a rough match for the task force heading our way. However, unless they do something as asinine as to fire first, before reaching orbit…" Captain Ignatius shrugged. "We can't move anyway before the Tau ships leave and they won't be boosting away for at least a day."
"Keep hailing the bloody bastards. I'll be at the field hospital. The moment Inquisitor Vail is well enough to awake, even if it takes flooding her system with stimulants, I'll have her calling them as well."
"If our reinforcements refuse to see reason?" Captain Thule asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come up to it." It wasn't like the Blood Ravens had troubleshooting at other Imperial forces. However, after all the hard work, I put in to contain that particular madness, I wasn't going to order it repeated!
"This bloody planet is cursed…" I grumbled to myself and headed for the exit. As soon as I was out of the command center, my bodyguards fell in formation around me.