Vex Chronicles 3: Hunt

The culmination of a hunt

Unknown location, Rubum Mortis nebula

The trek to the nebula had not been an easy one. Leaving the safety of the Gaten currents meant that the navigator had to rely more on the Astronomican. But with the scar of the Cicatrix Maledictum obfuscating the Emperor's guiding light, only small jumps could be safely made. On top the phenomenon that gathered matter into the nebula had a much stronger presence in the warp. It was a storm that made traveling even more unsafe. The navigator had struggled to keep the course. And it had lost Vex even more time in the process. But it was hardly the navigator's fault. They had known beforehand that their target was at the edge of the Waste Stars.

But now they had reached the Rubum Mortis nebula. And Sill was disappointed when she stared out of the viewing screen.

"Where is it? Where is all the fog. This is supposed to be a red nebula..."

Vex grinned. "Its a nebula, yes. But the actual particle density is negligible small."

"Bummer. And I wanted to see red plumes washing around the Aes Cognis like clouds... This is boring."

"It is everything but. It's just not Sill-interesting."

Vex looked at the small planetoid that stood ad the edge of the viewing screen. Something had left a massive crater and had claimed maybe a 10th of the object's mass. The ejected matter had formed a loose ring around the planetoid. Whatever had happened here was old, many ten-thousand years old and more.

"What happened to it?" Sill had finally seen the crater. "A starkiller weapon's test?"

Gerrisat shook his hooded head. "Fragmentation suggests a force from inside. Not an external bombardment."

"High metal concentration on surface," Federim said. "Artificial structures of xenos origin. Structure suggests remains of world engines."

"They dragged this into stable orbit?" Vex looked at the projected auspex readings. "Is it possible that we are looking at the birth place of the starkiller? A planetoid turned factory dock?"

"Interesting theory." Even Gerrisat couldn't keep excitement from his generated voice. "My Adeptus has to know."

"Corra? Calculate the missing mass of the crater."

<Calculating.>

Vex looked at the captain. "If this is the location, where are the dark eldar? They were ahead of us."

"My senses are searching." Feh's reply sounded colder than ever and her hands were shaking.

"Keep your calm, Feh." Vex put a hand on her shoulders. "You are no longer in the clutch of dark eldar."

"I am not afraid, inquisitor. I will get my revenge against those xenos torturer." Feh narrowed her eyes and shook Vex's hand off.

Feh had grown distant. Hanson's death had forced a wedge between Vex and her. And between dealing with the Cax archives and this starkiller hunt, Vex feared that he had lost her...

"Auspex fluctuations received," Federim called for attention.

"The dark eldar?" Feh brushed over the eldar mask that she had donned.

"Unlikely. Too massive for void ship. Close proximity."

"Visuals," Feh demanded.

The view screen flickered as Federim put the forward facing optics onto it. All it showed was the void of space.

"Where?" Feh leaned forward. "I can't see anything."

"Increase color contrast," Gerrisat said with mechanical voice.