Rosetta - A Warhammer 40,000 Story

Part XX - Helios V is Liberated

Vespasian bowed his head.

"We are the hammer. Brother-Captain." Remarked Vespasian.

Then the Paladin turned back his feet clanking heavily against the floor as he continued his journey.

-//-

In the deserts of Helios V stood many great spires of earth and stone. Each one reached out from the sand-filled desert floor to pierce the sky. It is throughout these pillars stands a vast network of caves.

Through these, the winds blow creating a mighty orchestra of blaring wind instruments. To any imperial ear, they would resemble the deep tune of a church organ. It is among these that one stood out.

It was silent. The wind blew through its many caves yet no new tunes were played. Before it flickered into existence seven blue lights of immense energy. First among them was Aurelius himself with his nemesis warding staff in hand.

Each one tore a hole in reality and in its place materialised a twelve-foot tall titan of silver and gold. Their armour shimmering in the desert sun the Grey Knights have arrived on Helios V.

With Aurelius leading the way they entered the spire. The way in may have been convenient for mortals but clad in the thick plating of their Terminator suits the Grey Knights could barely fit and had to enter the spire in single file.

Aurelius kept going and when he found a dip in the ceiling. He ducked only to have Vespasian behind him smash through it. Aurelius turned around to find the bottom half of some kind of symbol blown away with a Grey Knight helm its place.

"Be careful! Any object in here could grant us the knowledge we need." Aurelius warned them all.

Vespasian merely paused and then nodded before resuming his advance. They came upon a large round room. An altar stood at its centre with a wide circular clearing. Around it was built row upon row of seats.

It was a scene of desecration, littered with the skeletons of humans who had been dead for millennia. The walls and floor were filled with traces of long-lost wealth and majesty. The walls stretched high up to the top with architecture stretching from end to end all the way up.

Without delay they set about spreading out, studying everything. Every intricate little detail of every artefact that could be found was scanned thoroughly. Aurelius went straight for the altar while Vespasian took his time studying the structure itself.

Upon the altar was a presence almost entirely immaterial. Aurelius opened his mind took in the full extent of his senses. Through his concentration, he could see all. Both material and immaterial plains merging. The walls of reality thinning and all power converging on a single point.

He stood there inspecting it while Vespasian approached. Once the Paragon was at his side the Librarian handed him his warding staff. He then reached out and gripped the altar with both hands and lifted.

For a moment the stone from which it was built resisted but then it began to crack and the base crumbled away. Lifting it up out of place he put it aside and looked into the dark hole he had created.

Within sparkled a glowing jewel. Aurelius knelt down and took it. He flinched as to him the jewel glowed blindingly bright. He could see the energy gathering to it. He could see the streams flow through the warp to it, feeding it, empowering it.

It was a thing of the strangest nature that had taken the shape of a human heart. Clearly chaotic yet somehow different. As if it had been tampered with in some way. He searched for answers where he stood.