<<< Armageddon Prime, Tower of Doom Ruins 2 weeks later >>>
It's dawn on Armageddon, a bloody dawn. In the gloom of the ruins one can make out two figures. One huge and bulky and the size of a dreadnought. The arms of the figure end one in a big gun and the other in a pneumatic claw. The other figure, about two metres thirty, looks like a Space Marine with the possible exception of the horns on his helmet and the missing armour on his left arm. Suddenly, the power armour clad warrior starts walking into the ruins.
"I still don' get why da zog we're 'ere Kharn!?" the bulky figure growled.
"Because I need to make myself whole after all these years Ghazghkull." Kharn said and looked around. He'd left it in it's pedestal, but where?
"Waddaya mean wiv 'ole again?" Ghazghkull said and walked closer, the adamantium of his partially metal skull glittering in the dawning light.
"Once, I had this planet in my grasp, but I lost it. The Imperial lackeys shuns this area, so it's probably gonna be here still."
"A weapun?" Ghazghkull asked walking even closer.
"Yes, a very potent weapon." Kharn realized Ghazghkull was getting dangerously close the edge. "Don't walk any further!"
"Why not?" the huge Ork Warlord asked in his deep voice.
"Because anyone who enters the Arena I must challenge. Only four has ever escaped alive." Kharn went back to searching.
"Which four wuz dat?"
"They were the Space Outlaws and that Commissar I've told you about."
"Oh, dat Yarrick..." Ghazghkull's voice trailed off. "I fink 'Umie commissurrs have smart hats. Uzbex, a big boss uv mine, collects 'em."
"That's a nice hobby." Kharn said as he started digging with his bare hands on a place.
"Ya nevvur nailed dat Yarrick, why not?"
"'Cause he was a bit slippery..." Kharn said as he dug deeper, cursing Armageddon and it's ash wastes as well as the Yarricks.
"He's got a grandson though. Heard he's quite an expert on orks." Kharn continued as he dug. Just a little further...
"Is he a commissurr?" Ghazghkull asked curiously.
"Yeah, but he's old now. Probably won't fight much more, sorry to spoil the fun. Anyways, the Yarricks are mine!"
"Righto Kharn." Ghazghkull muttered and kicked a 15-kilo rock away a good hundred metres. After all Kharn had told him about the Yarricks, Ghazghkull was quite hoping for a good fight. Seemed impossible now, Kharn wanting the 'Umie for himself and the man being old. Ghazghkull weren't an expert on humans, but he knew they began to leak when one punched them too hard and that old humans broke much more easily. He remembered the commissar he'd broken the back on and then trampled the old human's arm. It had been very easy, Ghazghkull remembered. Old humans weren't fun.
"YESSSS!!" Kharn shouted as he pulled forth his trusty old axe from beneath the sand. "Behold Warlord Ghazghkull Thraka, the ultimate weapon!"
"Now dat's a zogging 'uge choppa!" Ghazghkull shouted astonished.
"It's more than a 'choppa' my friend. It's the most powerful deamon weapon in the galaxy! Deamon Lord Kharn, welded it, second in power to the King of Deamons himself, Kharzhan! An Eldar Craftworld had it, but the sissies were probably afraid of using it. I liberated them of their burden and since then, the Axe of Khorne has been mine! Once again, I'm made whole!!"
As Kharn's mad laughter echoed in the ruins, Ghazghkull felt his green skin get prickly. There was something very wrong with this human.
"'Oo made da choppa?" Ghazghkull finally asked.
"Huh?"
"Wot's da name of da mek wot made dat choppa?" Ghazghkull repeated.
"This weapon my friend, was forged by the best smith through time, but also the bane of all deamons. It was forged with hatred, the very essence of the deamons. Still, it's not as potent as Kharzhan's personal blade, but it's second best..."
"'Oo da zog made it Kharn!?"
Kharn eyes turned hard on Ghazghkull.
"Why do you want to know?" the Berzerker Lord said in a low, whispering tone.
Ghazghkull found no answer on the question so he decided to leave it at that. Something else took his attention. An Ork Nob was shouting something on orkish.
"What does he want Ghazghkull?" Kharn asked.
"Boss Tufzog sez somefing about 'Umie Gargants."
"Titans," Kharn muttered to himself. "Any suppport?"
Ghagzhkull yelled something unintelligible back to Tufzog, who replied just as oddly.
"No, no suppurt."
Kharn smiled to himself. "By the Throne of Skulls, they're more stupid than I thought."

<<< Infernus Hive, a week after the destruction of the Iron Skulls Titan Legion and loss of Death Mire hive >>>
"Lord Astropath Zebulon, you must send out the distress signal!" Sebastian nearly begged the psyker to do it. Armageddon Prime was nearly lost, and the loss of Hive Tempestora would prove a serious blow towards the forces of the Imperium. The tank factories in Tempestora was all that stood between the Imperial forces and total destruction on Prime, and Sebastian wouldn't such a minor thing as an order from the governor keep him from saving billion lives.
"Sorry commissar, but without clearance from the governor or an inquisitor, I can't send out the psychic distress beacon. Laws, you know." Zebulon replied with a gesture of sadness.
"Don't you understand!? Armageddon is being destroyed because of the governor and I don't trust the Inquisition for two seconds!" Sebastian shouted, feeling agitated.
"Commissar Yarrick, maybe it is you who don't understand?" Zebulon said and stood up, his skeleton like frame wrapped in green robes. "I have my creeds and edicts to follow, just as you do. Mine, on the other hand, are there for my colleagues and my own security."
"Believe me Zebulon, if you don't do as I say, you won't leave Armageddon alive..." Sebastian muttered between clenched teeth.
"Is that a threat, commissar?" the two metres tall psyker-skeleton said.
"No, a fact." Sebastian replied with a steely gaze. The Astropath seemed to understand and sat down.
"Right, I'll send out a distress signal. But beware, an Inquisitor may pick it up and wonder what's wrong."
Sebastian sat down on a chair a good ten metres away from the psyker. He felt so uncomfortable in their proximity. He realized his skin had turned to goose flesh and tried to shake of the feeling. Sebastian felt something heavy land in his knee and saw that Cerberus rested his big, furry head in his lap. The big wolfhound didn't like psykers either it seemed. Seb gently stroke Cerberus' grizzled fur, remembering when he'd gotten the dog as a pup. It had made him forget for many years his grandfather and that horrible day. He'd fled to Armageddon after completing his Commissar's training to forget, and Cerberus had helped him somewhat. But one day he'd stumbled upon a statue of his grandfather in Volcanus Hive. Sebastian had been 28 at that time, new to his duty, assigned to a Steel Legion nicknamed the Armadillos after the creatures out in the Wastelands. He'd fallen to his knees and wept as he remembered what he'd done when he saw the statue of the Liberator of Armageddon, The Wolf, Commissar General Rolf Yarrick. Since that day, Sebastian had never for one day forgotten his "mistake".
Suddenly, Cerberus raised his head so quickly it made Seabstian start. A low growl came from the hound’s throat. Seb knew immediately what was happening.
"They're here..." he said quietly to himself, considering how good his odds were if he were to...? Sebastian shook his head and banished the thought. It would only get him into more trouble.
"Nearly done..." the Astropath mumbled, Seb glancing towards him, quickly regretting it, seeing that Zebulon seemed more skeletal than ever, blood dripping from the psyker's nose. The taste of metal was in the air because of the psychic powers. Cerberus bark woke Seb from his daily nightmare as he'd watched the psyker. Seconds later, a squad of Arbiters broke into the room, armed with combat shotguns. After them came their Judge.
"Commissar Yarrick!" the Judge called. "You're under arrest for breaking Article 3543, Section 6; Disobeyment of superior order!"
"What!?" was all that Sebastian got out, grabbing good hold on Cerberus, who'd spotted a cyber-mastiff amongst the Arbiters.
"Do not attempt to flee, it will only make it worse." the Judge said in a calm voice.
"The only superior I have is the Emperor of Mankind!" Sebastian shouted as two Arbiters disarmed him and put handcuffs on him.
"Wrong!" a voice called from the corridor. Sebastian knew it too well.
"As long as you're here Yarrick, I'm your superior." von Strab said and stood himself before Sebastian. He spotted the clearly pissed Cerberus and took a few steps backwards.
"Do something about that wolf too!" von Strab ordered the Arbiters. One tried to put a mouth buckle on Cerberus, but ended with a very bloody arm instead.
"Get them Cerberus!" Sebastian shouted. The old wolfhound jumped on the cyber-mastiff and tore the robot-dog's head from its body. Cerberus was about to jump on another Arbiter, when the Judge pulled his hell pistol and shot.
"NO!" the old commissar screamed as the powerful laser shot hit his old friend in the side, throwing him to the floor. Bashing himself free from the two Arbiters that were holding him, Sebastian rushed to his dog's side. This couldn't be true...
"Fekking bastards!" Seb mumbled to himself, feeling anger inside himself he hadn't felt for many years. "I hope for your sake judge, that he isn't dead! Because if he is..."
"He's stunned." the Arbiter Judge cut him off. "Do you really think I would kill an innocent animal? Only humans make mistakes."
"You're making one right now, following von Strab's orders!" Sebastian growled. "Wait till Holt hears about this!"
"There's no need in wasting your phone call on me, Yarrick. I'm already here." Holt said calmly as he entered. "I've heard all of it, and I'm sorry to say it, but Yarrick, you have disobeyed a direct order from the planetary governor of Armageddon. There's not much I can do about it, either."
"Right," Sebastian said and looked the present men over. "I'm coming with you, but firstly I want to know what's going to happen to me."
"You're going to be banished from Infernus Hive." von Strab answered him. "I can't have you executed, that would cause some raised eyebrows, so I'm sending you off to Hades Hive. I heard you were born there, so why not spend some time there again, no?"
"Do I have a choice?" Sebastain replied and met von Strab with a steady, steely gaze. With that the Arbiters left, carrying Cerberus with them. Von Strab and Holt stayed in the Astropath Chamber. Zebulon looked up at them.
"Did Yarrick manage to send a signal?" Herman queried.
"No, and I had the Astropath Creed on my side." Zebulon replied calmly and quietly. This tone made both Holt and von Strab shrug.
"Good." von Strab said and left with Holt.
As the metal doors closed with a hiss, Zebulon smiled to himself.
"No, Yarrick didn't send a signal. I did." the Astropath said to himself.
And with that he closed his eyes and entered the Immaterium to send another distress signal, focused on a special mind.

<<< Hades Hive Spire Space Port, 2 days later, Hive Tempestora under siege >>>
Sebastian wasn't welcomed by cheering crowds when the Thunderhawk landed in Hades. Instead, the spaceport seemed rather dead. Not a man as far as he could see.
"Let's go," Seb said to Cerberus after a moment of silence. Cerberus was sporting a bandage around his ribs where he'd been shot, being lucky that las-weapons fuse the flesh together after they'd hit. That the shot hadn't been so powerful had saved him too. Though it had been enough to throw Cerberus off his paws.
The two walked for a few minutes until a voice called their attention.
"Commissar Yarrick! Good to see you here!" a man called. He was thickset and seemed to be in his early fifties, his hair beginning to grey at his temples. Though the man was thickset, he was still a good ten centimetres taller than Sebastian. Seb recognized him immediately.
"Michael Atris!" Seb exclaimed. "What brings you here?" the commissar asked, although he already knew the answer.
"You, who else?" Atris said as he joined Seb and Cerberus. "When I heard you were going to be banished here, I sighed in relief, in fact."
"I see," Sebastian said and the two men and the dog walked off towards a turbo-lift that would take them to a lower level in the Spire. As they entered the lift and it began taking them down the nearly two miles to the level where Sebastian had been assigned to live. It was in the Upper Levels, not far from Hive Hades Ruler's home, but still, Hades was notorious for it's many gangs. There was a long moment of silence until Atris broke it.

"Going with light luggage I see," he said, indicating Seb's lone bag. It was a standard issue Imperial Guard equipment bag. It was made from a durable textile in black, with a gold Imperial Eagle on it together with the text:

Imperial Commissar Sebastian Yarrick
"The Emperor knows, the Emperor watches"

The motto was probably sewn into place later than the rest, Artis could tell.
"I weren't really allowed to pack down my entire home. This bag was all I managed to get with me." Seb said and looked at the Hive Ruler.
"And your weapons, I see." Artis said and looked down on the chain sword hanging from a chain underneath Sebastian's Ordo Imperialis on his left side. On his right side, his laspistol was sitting in its holster. Sebastian seemed armed and ready for battle, which was much the case.
"Out of pure curiosity, what is in that bag of yours, Sebastian?"
"Clothes, of course," Seb began. "Some extra tunics and breeches, data-slates containing information about Orks and Berzerkers, and of course my family gems."
"Orks and Berzerkers?" Artis asked, sounding surprised, which he was.
"So you don't know what we're facing? Armageddon is facing an all out invasion of Berzerkers and Orks. This makes Kharn's last assaults seem like walks through the park. And we're having an incompetent Commander. Great..." Sebastian sighed and fell silent.
"He won't listen to you, right?" Artis said and looked softly on the old commissar with his blue eyes. Sebastian wished he could meet Artis with the same soft eyes, but he couldn't.
"He's incompetent to the extreme, Michael. And it's all because he's a full-blood aristocrat. His father Luthor, may the Emperor watch over his soul, had worked hard to get his title, but not by assassinating his brothers and father, like Herman. Luthor worked his way hard to make his father understand he was the most suitable inheritor of the throne of Armageddon."
"You still believe that Herman was behind the murders, Sebastian?"
"Of course. I wonder why Holt hasn't nailed him? He's got sufficient proof." Sebastian said and scratched his cheek. He hadn't shaved this morning; there hadn't been time for such.
"Maybe he's being bribed?" Artis suggested. Seb gave him a shocked look, like what he said was more than impossible.
"I mean," Artis explained "Holt's only human, after all. You can never know."
"Of course." Sebastian replied as the elevator slowed down to a halt and they walked out. Seb saw the enormous plaza he was going to live beside under the conflict. There were much people here, seemed to be some sort of market day. Around the hexahedral plaza, dozens of levels of habs raised up into the Spire. The outside of all hives was just a sort of shell. On the inside several smaller 'hives' were. Seb was now standing on one of the levels of one of these mini-hives, looking down at the plaza a hundred metres below him. He felt a nearly boyish urge to spit down on the crowds below to see if he could hit someone, but restrained from doing so. Walking away from the railing Seb fixed on the huge crystal tree in the middle of the plaza. It looked like one of our oaks but it was about a hundred times larger. Seb couldn't remember that it had been here last time he'd been in Hades. As he watched, a paper-thin crystal leaf fell down in the water of the artificial lake that surrounded the tree. It was mechanical, Sebastian thought. It HAD to be mechanical.
"What do you think of our Elysian Crystal Oak?" Artis said and smiled. "It's a real tree, if you wonder."
"It's biological?" Seb said astounded. "I thought it had to be mechanical or some sort of biotech."
"It's neither. It's a living crystal. There are many such things on Elysion. Most remarkable are the Sapphire Rays and the Ruby Lizards. They're protected by Imperial Law and can't be brought off-planet, but the Crystal Oaks aren't. This one was taken from Elysion maybe thousands of years ago and has stood here since. It's as hard as diamond, so not even a Leman Russ could blast it apart."
"Yes, I've heard of the crystal planet." Sebastian said and pulled away his eyes from the oak and started walking again. "Believe my grand-father was there some time. He brought home an Emerald Raven. I think he had permission for it, of course."
"Bet he had. He was an Imperial Commissar General, and such have pull. Did it survive long?"
"Not long, I believe Callidus sun was too much for it. As it was a crystal animal, it turned quite stiff. It's one of the gems I have with me."
There was another long pause of silence, broken by the murmur of the crowd far down below. This time, however, Sebastian broke the silence.
"Artis, I must ask you of a favour." Seb said in a troubled voice.
"Go ahead, commissar."
"Can you put every working man on reinforcing the blast doors and the Shell? After that, I want to have a list of every man here who's got experience, either in the Imperial Guard, the PDF or in the Gangs. Make that every man and woman, above eighteen."
"Ay, ay Commissar." Artis answered with a smart salute. "I understand, I've been in the Navy, many years ago."
"Artis, you haven't been closer to the Black Sea of space than a bathtub." Sebastian snapped.

<<< Tempestora Hive, the same afternoon >>>
"Say again, Commander?" Captain Mikos of the 8th Assault Company said to his commander over the roar of the Gargant siege guns.
"I said: fall back and take as many civilians with you as possible!" Charleston roared back over the storming guns.
"Why, sir?" Mikos said and raised a questioning eyebrow. Mikos was around fifty years old but had a childlike face and yellowish hair. He looked quite young had it not been for the numerous scars on his face.
"We're abandoning the Hive! Tempestora is dead! I'm not even doing this on the Overlord's orders. I'm acting as the Emperor wants!"
"That's why we don't have any support?" Mikos asked as the two blasted off up in the sky with their jump-packs and landed on a roof. Fifteen Marines with gold-helmets followed them. They were Mikos and Charleston's Honour Guard, the personal bodyguard of Death Angel commanders and officers, the absolute elite of warriors and often equipped with jump-packs and the best weaponry the Imperium can offer.
"Yep." Charleston simply replied as the landed and surveyed the battle tearing apart Hive Tempestora from above. The Berzerkers weren't many, and that troubled Charleston. Kharn allying with some other force wasn't uncommon, but the few Berzerker squads he'd met and gotten reported over the helmet vox-links was bothering. Why so few? There weren't even any trace of the Terminators that Kharn had under command. Something was fishy with this entire invasion. He had to get to Seb as soon as possible and tell him about this. That something wasn't right. Sebastian didn't have his grandfather's sixth sense of knowing what Kharn was up to. He didn't have the personal grudge, but still had a good reason for one...
"Mikos, there should be some Thunderhawks left up in the Spire that the nobles houses left behind. I'm going to pull out with the forces down here and salvage as many civilians as possible. You take the Honour Guard and take the Thunderhawks up in the Spire, with force from the nobles, if needed. Cram the Thunderhawks full of people, preferably workers, we'll need tank-constructors and weapons-manufacturers, not nobs."
"Yes sir!" Mikos said, saluted and with a simple order, the fifteen Honour Guard followed him as he put jump-pack on full blast and flew up into the Spire.
Charleston watched his aide fly upwards, but there was no sign of relief on his face. Rather the opposite. Mikos was young, for a Space Marine, and eager to prove himself. Charleston could bet he wanted to be transferred to one of the Battle Companies instead of 8th, which was a Reserve Company after all. But it hadn't been used like one lately. The numerous battles it was used in were because McGranth had begun using startlingly aggressive tactics. McKenzie couldn't be behind it, Charleston thought. McKenzie had his hands full of Genestealers and that Magos Grimjaw, who'd returned from death, in some odd way. McKenzie ranting about this wasn't worth listening to, Charleston had thought.
"Good luck, Brother Mikos." Charleston said and flew away down towards the hab-level plaza where some of the fiercest fighting was being done. As he flew over the plaza, he saw another squad of Berzerkers. God-Emperor, they had spread out. But still, the sixteen Berzerkers were just red spots in a sea of green-hided Orks. 'Like my boys.' Charleston thought darkly to himself. The Death Angels were so hopelessly outnumbered. They hadn't suffered heavy causalities, but where slowly being pushed back as wave after wave of Orks came storming. Charleston landed in the thick of the fighting, power sword and plasma pistol at the ready.
It was like being hit by a heat wave, the stench of the Orks were overwhelming. McKenzie often complained about Charleston's lack in personal hygiene. That was like nothing compared to the rotten stench from the Orks, their teeth yellow and their breaths vile like a predator's. One of them jumped at Charleston, only to be cut in half by the huge Marine. Charleston was probably the tallest Marine ever, bar the Emperor himself, but still the Orks were a good 2 metres tall. And the more powerful an Ork was, the bigger he seemed to get. Charleston had listened to Sebastian and Ishmael's conversation about the Ork the size of a Dreadnought walker. Charleston shrugged slightly at the thought of facing that beast.
Before he knew what had happened, he'd carved a path through the Orks and, followed by twenty Marines, he now stood face-to-face with the Ork Warboss, which commanded this warband. The bodyguards themselves were the size of a normal Marine, some of them clad in that mega armour Seb had talked about. With a mighty roar the Angels of Death and the Orks charged each other. The Orks that weren't dressed in mega armour fell quickly to the chain swords of the Marines. But before Charleston knew what was happening, the Orks seemed to get the upper hand. The chain swords couldn't pierce the thick armour of the remaining bodyguard, and the snipping power-claws of the Orks cut down the Marines as nothing. Feeling the anger burning inside of him of the loss of his brother-warriors, Charleston charged the Warboss, which had just beheaded Sergeant Young with its big, crude chain-axe. The Ork swung at him with incredible speed, but Charleston ducked away. The chain-axe tore of his helmet instead, which was dangling from the mag-chain in Charleston's belt.
"For that, I'll take your helmet instead, Ork-scum!!" Charleston roared. The Warboss was wearing a big, black helmet with huge horns on it.
"No, yoo won't Oomie! Dis iz a Waaagh! All Oomies die!! Da red deamon 'as said so!" the Warboss roared as he plunged his chain-axe in a wide arc, trying to catch Charleston in it's reach. Charleston was shocked on hearing an alien, a crude and savage Ork for the matter; speak Low Gothic, though he had obvious problems with pronunciation. He thought he ducked and evaded slashes and swings from that huge chain-axe for five minutes before he saw a drop in the warboss' guard. Ramming his power sword deep into the chest of the Ork, Charleston pulled himself close to the Ork's face and hissed:
"See your deamon gods in hell! This planet belongs to the Emperor and not Kharn!"
With that Charleston put all his weight on the sword and forced it downward, carving open the Ork from chest cavity to groin. As Charleston pulled out the sword with a powerful jerk, the Ork Warboss still stood up for half a minute, before falling over. Stone dead.
Picking up the warboss' helmet and putting it on his own head, Charleston looked around. He fended of another Ork deftly and, using the vox-link hanging on his ear, he ordered all the Marines to fall back using pattern Omega7. That was a fall back technique only used by the 8th Company of the Death Angels.
"That should surprise them." he thought and yelling the order to fall back, flew out of the combat and took flight to the Shuttle Bays on Hab-level 23. The entire of the 8th Company followed him as a whole. The Orks, to confused or to surprised, didn't pursue. The Berzerkers, on the other hand, had their orders. This was all going according to plan...

<<< Infernus Hive, 6 days later >>>
Overlord Herman von Strab was looking through some reports on data-slates, when Commander Charleston burst into his office. The big Marine hadn't even bothered to remove his armour, though he had been smart enough to take off the jump-pack. On Charleston's face was a look of anger, perfectly well qualifying him for 'Most Disgruntled Person of the Year'. von Strab understood the man's temper quite well. The reports he'd read from Tempestora were disheartening.
"It's lost!" Charleston said after standing quiet for a few minutes. "Armageddon Prime is lost, and you know why, dontcha?"
"I wasn't prepared for an assault this size, Commander." Herman replied, looking up from the data-slate he was reading.
"As fekk you were!" Charleston snapped. "There has been plenty of bad omens recently! Most notably the statue of the Emperor in Helsreach's Prime Church wept bloody tears just before the day of the Feast!"
"I haven't been informed about it."
"Oh, you have, by Commissar Yarrick even! You've just chosen to ignore him!" Charleston growled. If he just had the authority to remove Herman from his position, but only a Grand Commander or Commissar could perform such an act. Thinking of commissars, where was Seb?
"Speaking of the same," Charleston said in a milder tone. "Where is he?"
"Commissar Yarrick? I banished him to Hades Hive." von Strab answered without as much as blinking or looking up from the report. Seemed Hive Monitor Artis was up to something, reinforcing his blast-doors and Hive Shell.
"You what?" Charleston asked shocked.
"I banished him to Hades Hive because he disobeyed a direct order from me." Herman said and looked up again. "As a matter of fact, I had thought of executing the bastard, but Holt got me on other thoughts."
"Executing!?" Charleston shouted in surprise. "If you'd had him shot, I'd kill ya with me bare hands!"
"That is the punishment for disobeying orders, the same for deserting the Guard, Yarrick should know. He's a commissar."
What followed von Strab words was an uneasy silence. The last sentence had taken Charleston aback. He was in a loss of words. von Strab was crazy, that was clear. And that Holt, he seemed to cover the governor's back, but why? He was a commissar, just like Sebastian. Charleston finally came up with what to say.
"I just wanted to inform you, governor, that the enemy forces will probably go through the Jungle soon, so I'd recommend you to move your HQ." "They'll never make it through the Jungle, Lieutenant Commander. Never. It's too damn thick."
"You think so? It takes my scouts one month to move through the jungle on foot, and they're rookie Marines. How long time, or for that sake short time won't it take an army of veteran Berzerkers and Orks to move through it?"
With that, Charleston left the office. von Strab was left in deep contemplation.
"Maybe he's right." he said to himself. "Maybe I should move my HQ to some other Hive. Acheron, for example. Yes, Acheron's good."
Reaching with his finger to the vox-channel to inform his secretary, hestitating for a moment, but then pressing it, Herman called:
"Miss Renton, get me Commissar Holt. I want to talk to him."
Settling back in his big office chair, lighting a cigar, he thought on what was happening in Hades Hive. What was Artis up to? Then it struck him what was happening. It struck him like a lightning bolt and Herman spat out the cigar.
"YARRICK!" he shouted hoarsely.

<<< Infernus Hive, 4 months later >>>
The Berzerker assault came swift, they poured out of the Equatorial Jungle like a blood red sea. One thousand warriors of Khorne; a full company of Space Marines. Charleston saw them come at dawn. A swift army, mounted on bikes and in Rhino transports. Some even were riding in the fearsome Land Raider tanks, the worst of the tanks the Imperium could produce. He didn't, wouldn't believe his eyes when he saw the flashes of light from the jump-pack equipped Berzerkers. Raptors, they were called. Rare sight, those Berzerker Raptors. Raising the magnoculars to his eyes and zooming in he saw Kharn at the front, wearing his own jump-pack. Charleston remembered he'd found brothers of the 8th without jump-packs, snatched by the Berzerkers to use on their own. Charleston felt the spite rising in his throat at the thought of the vandalized suits of armour, belonging to the dead.
"Good thing we managed to evacuate the Hive." he thought to himself. "So many civilian lives we left at Tempestora makes me queasy."
Seeing the Berzerker army come to a halt at the very gates of Infernus Hive surprised Charleston a bit. But it also gave him a ray of hope.
"It won't be so here, this war ends with Infernus."

Down on the ground, Kharn walked forward, the mighty Axe of Khorne in his hand. He was going to give that fool Charleston a chance on surrendering and joining him. The time they'd taken on waiting out the Imperials was going to pay off. The long time had probably made their guard slacken. Kharn hoped so at least.
"Lieutenant Commander Charleston!! Show me your face, you Imperial worm!" Kharn shouted up towards the barricade facing him. His shout was amplified by the helmet's vox-system. Those words made his soldiers feel better, Kharn knew. Some were newly converted, the colour of their old Legions shining through the gore and gold colour of the Berzerkers Horde, so they needed proof they were the only real warriors. All others were worms.
"Whaddya want, ya little piece of traitor dung!?" Charleston snapped back. Kharn scanned the rows of Marines up on the barricade and soon found Charleston. He was standing a head taller than the others.
"Charleston, I give you one last chance. Join my forces, and we'll crush this pathetic Imperium ruled by a carcass!" Kharn did with a lively gesture.
"Go to Helsreach!" Charleston snapped.
"I'm just telling you the truth, brother warrior. What can this Imperium offer you, which Khorne can't? Battles, that is what a Space Marine lives for. What do you think will happen to you and all other Marines, when universal peace is acquired? You won't be needed any more. They'll get rid of you."
"I'm not so stupid I'll fall for that one. The Emperor can offer me ten times as much as your fallen god."
"It's the truth, lieutenant! You call us renegades, but we're Marines who've seen the light, who understand what will happen with us when we're not needed any more."
"There is always wars for us Marines to fight, and don't call me brother! Traitor!"
'Boy, he's slow.' Kharn thought darkly to himself. 'I called him that half a minute ago.'
"Think of it Charleston! You wouldn't need to serve under incompetent commanders any more. You'd be your own commander."
"It's no use Kharn. I know your tricks. Your honey-coated tongue can't shake my faith in the Emperor of Mankind. He created this Imperium and he created us! We will succeed!"
"No you won't!" Kharn shouted, losing his temper. He showed Charleston the axe so the dumb loyalist could clearly see the power Kharn held.
"See this, Charleston? See this!? It's the Axe of Khorne! I had it once, but it was taken away from me by those pesky Omega Squadron Outlaws and Commissar General Yarrick, but what did that do for good? I have it once again; I'm made whole again! With this Daemon Weapon, welded once by Daemon Lord Kharn Fleshtearer himself, King Kharzhan's right hand, I am invincible! It's the most powerful weapon in the galaxy and with it in my hands nothing can stop me!! Not the Imperial Guard, not the Legio Titanicus, not the Adeptus Astartes, not you, not Yarrick!!"
Charleston slowly realized his mistake. Keeping a steady gaze on Kharn, he whispered in his vox-link to Mikos.
"Take half of eighth and get the fekk out of here. The renegade is right. We don't stand a damned chance against him now."
"So, what it's gonna be Charleston!?" Kharn shouted. "Surrender or prepare for your death at the hand of the Axe of Khorne. Or should that be the Axe of Kharn!?"
"Kharn," Charleston called down. "If you're going to take this Hive, it's going to over my dead body!"
"My pleasure," Kharn thought grimly. "That can be arranged, worm! CHARGE!!!!!"
Kharn's roar was out-classed by the mighty "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!!" that was shouted from the lips of every Berzerker as the gore-coloured horde stormed against Infernus Hive.
"Oh Emperor," Charleston whispered in his vox-link to his warriors. "May You hath mercy on our Souls and guide them to Your side..."
Then the Battle for Infernus Hive begun. A battle in which centuries of hatred erupted as the Angels of Death and the Berzerkers of Khorne clashed in the streets of the Hive. Charleston and Kharn never met, but their warriors did, and around a hundred Marines on each side fell before Charleston abandoned the Hive. Kharn ordered his men to hold. They'd taken what they'd come for.
Two days after Infernus Hive was taken by the Berzerkers, the chandelier in Infernus Opera house was torn down and destroyed.

<<< Hades Hive 4 days later >>>
Commissar Sebastian Yarrick looked out the great view-port of Hades Hive and saw the sea of green skinned warriors outside. They camped on both sides of the river Euminedes. It seemed quite weird that a sea of green being broken by a nearly grey river. He'd received messages from the Orks in the shape of captured humans, probably from Volcanus or Tempestora, humans with their hands or eyes cut out, some poor fellows even had gotten into the way of the Ork Meks. Some of those had minor bionic implants and some extreme cases had grot-braintransplants. They all carried the same message with them: Surrender or die!
The first one to come in with that message had been Colonel Archer. He was taken care of now, medics tending him every minute.
Looking away from the horde outside, Sebastian sighed. They would attack soon he knew so. The siege guns of the Gargants had silenced, which meant the Orks were preparing for an attack. Sebastian had seen a huge banner pole out in the green sea and read the glyphs on it. This was an army belonging to an Ork Warlord named Ugulhard. Seb had heard of Ugulhard's Chargers. Their Warlord, Ugulhard, was notorious for his assaults, but Ugulhard bowing down before another Ork Warlord, that meant this Ghazghkull Thraka held power indeed. Ugulhard also had a big Ork Battle-claw, very much like the power-claws, but of an older design.
A messenger tore Sebastian from his thoughts.
"Excuse me Commissar Yarrick, but I have some messages for you." the young boy said. Seb guessed he could be older than eighteen and he probably wouldn't survive the war. Sebastian swallowed hard at the thought.
"Thanks," Seb said as he received them. He handed the boy fifteen Imperial credits as a tip. The boy lightened up at the money and bowed deeply and ran off. Seb looked after him a long while until he opened the messages. The first one was from Ishmael. He had written that Holt had called him back to duty, as all commissars available were needed. He'd been stationed in Helsreach Hive to serve with the PDF and Lord General Terhune. He also wrote that an enormous Ork force was coming to Helsreach, but he'd never let Helreach fall. The entire of Helreach population, 10 billions all in all, had volunteered to defend their homes. He wished Sebastian luck and was sorry for that he'd been banished. There was also post scriptum:
"I'd check on Holt if I were you. He's been acting strange lately and he's grown gaunt in his appearance." it read.
"Good luck to you, old friend." Seb mumbled to himself, as if IG was in psychic communion with him. 10 billion, that was more than the 5 billions that Hades population were, and still, only a million had military training in any form. Sebastian sighed. There had to be the same number of Orks out there. That he was sure of.
The other message was from Charleston. Charleston had obviously written it in a hurry, so his messages, which were usually hard to read, nearly became impossible to read. There were misspellings everywhere. But Seb could make out what he meant. Charleston and the whole of 8th was speeding to Hades Hive in their Thunderhawks, and would probably be there in six or seven hours.
"If we're still alive then Ed." Seb said and closed the data-slate with a snap. He walked out of the office and took the turbo-lift to the ground levels. He’d managed to keep Atris out of going into battle by saying the Hive Monitor was needed elsewhere. He also needed someone to look after Cerberus. Cerberus had fought against many foes through time, but he was wounded and Sebastian didn't wan't to lose his best friend.
When Yarrick stepped out of the elevator, he seemed to have changed in appearance. At least the welders at the blast-doors thought so. They had met an old man, shortened by age, slightly built and with slumped shoulders. What stepped out of the elevator was the most fearsome commissar they'd ever had seen. They knew it was Commissar Yarrick though; the blue-grey hair was hard to miss even though he was wearing his peaked cap. He just seemed to have gotten taller, more muscular and broad-shouldered. They just didn't understand how it made sense, such a transformation of a human. Sebastian walked up to the colonel of the Hive Defence Force who'd been supervising the soldiers and organized them into companies as they'd arrived.
"Are we ready, Colonel Logan?" Sebastian asked the tall colonel.
"As ready as can be. We'll take anything those Orks throw against us." Logan replied with a grin.
"I really hope so..." Sebastian said and turned on his chain-sword. He always had his sword hanging from his left side, even though he was left-handed. But Imperial Commissars' uniforms were made for right-handed people, with the pistol holster always sitting on the right side. Seb didn't like it. It was making things difficult, but beggers can't be choosers. He was brought from thoughts by the shouts of warning from a watchtower.
"Now it begins..." Sebastian said in a whisper. "The Battle for Armageddon."
The two forces met in a hideous roar of guns and screams of dying and wounded. Sebastian parried and slashed with his chain-sword. Each cut brought down a green-skinned beast. The soldiers saw the old man fight for the Imperium with vigour they didn't think possible, but it brought hope to their hearts and they attacked Orks with their lasguns and bayonets. Sebastian was far from the only commissar present. He didn't understand how, but after fifteen minutes of fierce hand-to-hand, he was joined by four other commissars, all of them belonging to Armageddon's Commissariat, all of them younger then him, but they fought with experience and they formed a black spear that drove deep into the Ork horde. But as sudden as the young commissars had joined him, they disappeared. Sebastian didn't want to think on why.
'The moment you start to count the cost, is the moment you fail.' he thought to himself.

Warlord Ugulhard was cutting through humans with his big battle-claw when he saw Commissar Yarrick. He'd heard from Grand Warlord Ghazghkull that Yarrick had been banished for contradicting his leader's orders. Ghazghkull had also said that the Red Deamon wanted the Yarrick for himself.
'Wut da zog?' Ugulhard thought. 'I'ze will kill da Oomie now. Why does da Red Deamun want dat old Oomie for?'
Ordering his driver to drive towards the old commissar, Ugulhard readied himself to disembark from the warbuggie. As he reached Yarrick, Ugulhard threw himself at the old man with a bestial roar. Sebastian, being not as quick as his grandfather, but quick none-the-less, ducked Ugulhard's first attack with ease. The battle-claw flew towards him five, six, seven times, Sebastian ducking it every time. But when the eighth swing came, Sebastian jumped to the left, but felt a cutting pain in his right arm.
Ugulhard had caught his right arm by the elbow with the claw and cut it right off! The pneumatic claw had gone through bone and muscle like a hot knife through butter. Sebastian just stared at the stump that once had been his right arm; the blood was spurting out from the wound. When he saw the rest of his arm lying on the ground, the pain seemed to reach him finally.
Screaming with pain, Sebastian went down on his knees, clutching his severed arm with his left hand. He heard Ugulhard's mad laughter and victory shout, as if the Ork had killed him. Yarrick couldn't believe it. This couldn't be true. It couldn't be true. It couldn't, wouldn't end like this. He'd always thought he'd die of age or in the field of battle, but not like this, not like this! The Iron Will of his family pumping in his veins together with the hatred he held towards anything alinged with Kharn, made it possible for him to shut out the pain. Grabbing hold of his chain-sword and staggering up to a standing position, fighting the shock and pain like no normal man, Sebastian Yarrick, Imperial Commissar and Warrior of the Emperor, looked Warlord Ugulhard in the eyes. The Ork looked shocked back at the old man. He thought he'd killed the human.
"You can destroy our homes, you can murder our loved ones," Sebastian panted forth, putting the chain-sword in highest gear, making the motor scream as it pulled round the adamantium toothed chain. "But we'll defend our honour and homes no matter the cost! We will never forgive, never surrender!!"
With that, Sebastian brought the chain-sword about in a wide, crimson arc, severing Ugulhard's bony, green head from his body. The head sneered at the old man for a moment until the creature's metabolism conceded he was dead.
Sebastian breathed hard in and out a couple of times until he calmly reached down and loosened the battle-claw from Ugulhard's twitching body. It was hard with one arm, but he managed. As he was bent down when he loosened the straps of the claw, he didn't see the Thunderhawks landing behind the Imperial force. Pulling off the claw from Ugulhard's arm, straining every muscle in his old body to lift it, Sebastian showed the battle-claw to all the warriors present, Ork as human. The battlefield fell silent. Human and Ork as one gazed at the old man, standing on Ugulhard's body, holding a battle-claw a third of his height above his head. There was another moment of silence before the Ork horde fled; wailing in terror as they realized their leader had fallen. The human army attacked the Orks with renewed vigour and now finally Sebastian saw the Space Marines amongst them. As the Orks were beaten from Hades Hive, Sebastian Yarrick finally allowed himself to pass out.

Charleston ran the fastest he could through the thick of humans. He sometimes flew short distances with his jump-pack. He had to find Sebastian, he knew the commissar in some way was behind the Orks so suddenly fleeing. The sudden silence he'd at first thought come because his force had arrived and surprised both HDF and Orks. But such wasn't the case. It had been Seb who'd caused the silence, but how.
"Lieutenant Commander, over here!" a Space Marine Apothecary, the Marines equalient of a medic, called him.
Charleston flew over to the apothecary with a few jumps and landed. What he saw he didn't want to believe. Ugulhard's beheaded corpse, Sebastian's right arm and Seb himself lying on top of Ugulhard's body. The claw had slipped out of his hand and was lying on the ground beside Ugulhard's body. The apothecary walked up to Sebastian's body and checked it. He put on a field dressing over the stump, to make it stop bleeding, but as he put his hand on the old man's chest, he pulled it back. Charleston wasn't watching, he was studying Ugulhard's claw and weighing it in his hands. Seb probably wanted to keep it. Charleston was still wearing the helmet from Temperstora that he'd nicked from the warboss. Sebastian liked trophies, but Charleston wasn't entirely sure that Sebastian wanted to be reminded of this. He decided to bring the claw with him so Seb could decide himself. "Sir?" the apothecary asked, holding his hand over Sebastian's face as thinking on putting it down.
Charleston looked up from his thoughts. "What?" he asked.
"Sir, Commissar Yarrick, he..." the apothecary hesitated. "He doesn't breathe."
Charleston looked shocked at the apothecary. What had the man said?
"He doesn't what?" Charleston said shocked, almost dropping the heavy claw on his feet.
"Commissar Yarrick doesn't breathe, sir." the apothecary replied, a slight tone of sadness in his voice.