Hestia, Kaelen, and Liora were pushed back against the great Gothic archway of the lower gates. They were a tiny, bleeding group of resistance in a sea of green roars.
The Warboss himself stepped forward. His massive frame shivered slightly with the wrong feeling of the Sisters. He signalled for his favourite Nob, a brute in a stolen officer's cap, to finish it.
"Krump 'em," he commanded.
The Nob stepped over Veyra's scorched remains, raising a massive Power Klaw and bringing it down.
Before the klaw could hit anyone, though, a shadow blurred from the rafters above.
A seriously tall figure in a soot-stained traveller's cloak, moving faster than the Orks or anyone seemed to notice, landed between the Sisters and the Nob. He didn't use a bolter.
He swung a spear with insane speed and the lethality of a demigod, carving through the Nob and the 30 Orks standing closest to the small group, in one fluid motion, before anyone realised that something had happened.
It was as if time had stood still for the person and only continued when he finally stopped moving.
"Fall back to the gates," the man commanded with a low voice.
The Orks, who finally realised what had happened, roared in fury. They were furious that they had been interrupted by yet another git. But their roar was cut short by a sound that shook the very foundations of the plaza.
A sound that they were familiar with at this point.
THOOM--THOOM--THOOM--!
The wall that separated the ground-level plaza from the entrance to the lower level of the Hive, which had been fixed twice already and was broken only for the love of the game, was blasted open, and there stood the improved and more powerful MK. III-H "Iron Monger", while 'AC/DC - Back in Black' blasted in the background.
Beside it stood the Kastelan Golem, and flanking them was a figure in the typical red-leathern robes of a Magos: Hans.
"OI! I'S BACK, YA GITS!"
Gerhard's voice, amplified through his vox-grills, boomed throughout the entire plaza.
Gerhard, who had arrived at a slightly elevated position, leapt from the platform, shocking the blood-stained surviving Sisters by the sudden appearance. He hit the ground with a shockwave that killed a few Orks and sent a dozen of them flying through the air.
Gerhard staggered as his gaze drifted to the small group of humans and used [Observe] on them. More surprised was he by what he felt in their presence. Those were some high-standing guests.
> Master
Hans's digital voice was heard only by Gerhard as he levelled his weapons.
> The energetic anomaly I mentioned earlier has been identified as these Anathema Psykana. The probability of them being 'the guests' you predicted: 99.2%.
"I told ya I'd be back! But it seems dat tings have changed. These humies are under my protection! You don't touch 'em, you don't look at 'em, and you certainly don't krump 'em!"
He stepped forward, his metallic boots crunching on the dead Ork bodies littered across the floor.
"Dis fight is between me and you! Leave 'em out o' it, or I'll stop playin' fun."
The Warboss didn't care about "fair." He was a Goff for crying out loud and a powerful one at that, who had had enough of Gerhard and his ways. Logic was for Grots, and talk was for the dead. The presence of the Sisters had been a dull ache in his brain, but Gerhard's arrival was like a lightning strike. The sheer audacity of the human triggered something primal.
"WAAAAAAGH! Listen 'ere, ya beaky git! Dis' ere Hive is claimed in da name of Deffskull! You listen up, we's gona krump dese gits, and when I'm done wiff dem, I's—"
VROOOOM--!
A beam of bright blue ionic energy punched through the air and metal. The Warboss didn't even have time to grunt; his entire upper torso simply vanished. The mountain of meat and cybernetics collapsed, the legs taking a few more involuntary steps before toppling into the dirt.
All of the Orks around froze. Their Boss was gone just like that. Hundreds of thousands of heads collectively turned and looked in the direction from which the shot came.
There, they saw Gerhard standing with a Gamma Pistol in his left hand, still aimed in the direction the Warboss had stood moments ago.
He straightened again, then handed it back to Hans, who took it from him and placed it on the correct spot on his body.
"Someone make a note of that Ork's bravery."
…
The loss of the Ork Warboss had an immediate effect on the entire Ork population. The vacuum of leadership left by the Warboss didn't last more than a heartbeat. For an Ork, a dead Boss wasn't a tragedy like for other species; it was mostly a job opening.
Korgull Iron-Head, a Nob nearly as wide as he was tall, was the first to move. He backhanded a smaller Ork so hard the creature's neck snapped, then planted a massive, mechanical boot on the cybernetic remains of the Warboss's legs.
"I'S DA BIGGEST!" Korgull roared, "SO I'S DA BOSS! FORM UP, YA GITS, OR I'LL--"
He never finished the sentence. A heavy-calibre slug from a Kustom Snazzgun tore through Korgull's shoulder, spinning him around.
Ten paces away stood Nazdreg Gold-Toof, a Bad Moon Meganob clad in golden scrap and teef. He lowered his smoking weapon.
"You's lookin' a bit 'oley dere, Korgull," Nazdreg sneered, his gold-plated mechanical jaw clinking. "Da Bad Moons got da most teef, which means we got da best dakka. And da best dakka makes me da Boss. Now, bow down 'fore I turn ya inta a holey Grot!"
The surrounding Nobz, seeing the two heaviest hitters trade blows, realised the "Great Waaagh!" was officially on hold for the "Great Scrap."
The Goffs simply put their heads down and charged the nearest living thing, bellowing their war cries. Nothing really changed for them, as they were itching for a fight at all times, and the presence of the Sisters of Silence only seemed to make things worse.
Within minutes, the disciplined horde, by Ork standards at least, dissolved into a chaotic mess of greenskin muscles, immense firepower and screaming lunatics.
"OI! DAT'S MY KLAW!"
CHOP.
"WAS YOUR KLAW, NOW IT'S MINE!"
The Orks who were supposed to be fighting Gerhard and Hans were now locked in a frenzied, bloody civil war. A Nob in a Mega-suit used his power-circular saw to bisect a rival, only to be tackled by five smaller Boyz who began peeling his armour off with their bare hands.
Gerhard fired smart missiles into the fray, killing the strongest and biggest Nobz to cause more confusion and make the Orks fight amongst themselves longer. Then he turned toward Hestia, the remaining Sisters and the hooded saviour.
He removed the helmet, revealing his face and smiled disarmingly at them.
"I greet you, esteemed Sisters, and you as well, hidden guardian," Gerhard said. "If you are strong enough, we should move to someplace safer. Hans, the medicine," Gerhard ordered.
Atarine Hestia looked at the tall man who had saved them, whom she knew was what he seemed. Then she looked at the strange man inside the even more mysterious power armour, and then finally turned to the approaching Tech Priest, who had a syringe at the tip of one of his mechandrites.
> Greetings, Sister of Silence. My designation is Magos-Datasmith Rho-7 Hans. This concoction will stabilise your cellular cohesion and stimulate rapid coagulation. It contains a high-potency cocktail of coagulants, localised numbing agents, and nutrient-rich stimulants designed to override systemic shock. Given the trauma to your and your sisters' nervous system, this will prevent involuntary tremors and ensure your motor functions remain optimal for extraction. You will feel a brief, cold sensation."
Hestia stared at the Magos, who talked strangely, but finally nodded.
Hans went from one sister to the next, administering the dose and improving their health. The tall, hooded man looked at Gerhard with an expression that no one could interpret. He had a mechanical eye and even had what appeared to be a breathing apparatus.
His entire body was hidden beneath rags, but Gerhard knew who and what he was and, more importantly, what he used to be. He made sure to keep all of his actions visible and not warrant being 'dealt' with. Gerhard had a very strong suspicion that the reason for this very peculiar meeting, of not one, but two of the Emperor's Talons, had something to do with his LUK stat.
But he didn't bother with that right now.
What was more pressing was getting them out of there and finding out what that strange feeling was. He knew what the Sisters of Silence were.
-
Kaelen Voss – Lv.59
| Rank: Vigilator
| HP: 10,200/10,200
|MP: 0
| Vigilators are the blade at the Sisterhood's front lines—close-combat specialists tasked with eliminating key threats. Whether striking command centres in battle or overseeing psyker tithes beyond it, they embody precision and terror to psykers in equal measure.
STR: 80
VIT: 91
DEX: 100
INT: 45
WIS: 100
LUK: 15
Wargear:
|Executioner Greatblade
|Psyk-out Grenades
Special Traits:
Executioner Protocol
| -> +25% melee damage
| -> +20% attack speed in close combat
Psyk-out Specialist
| -> Disrupts psychic casting and drains mental reserves
| Grenades:
| -> disrupt psychic casting
| -> reduce enemy MP significantly
Duelist Instinct
| Bonus damage vs single targets
| Increased crit chance vs elite enemies
-
Liora Thorne – Lv.58
|Rank: Witchseeker
|HP: 3,800/9,500
|MP: 0
| Witchseekers, often simply called Seekers, are deployed where cleansing is required. Armed with sanctified flame and weapons that shatter the mind, they specialise in purging psykers, mutants, and any who stray beyond the bounds of the Imperium.
STR: 80
VIT: 90
DEX: 85
INT: 50
WIS: 105
LUK: 14
Wargear:
| Witchseeker Flamer
| Neural Shredder
Special Traits:
Purifier Flame
| AoE damage
| +40% effectiveness vs:
| --> hidden enemies
| --> cultists
| --> swarm units
Neural Disruption
| Neural Shredder:
| --> causes mental overload
| --> stuns weaker enemies
Area Denial Specialist
| Controls battlefield space
| Reduces enemy movement speed
-
It was, however, the final one, the leader of the group, that worried Gerhard the most and whose presence, or lack thereof, he felt the strongest.
Atarine Hestia – Lv.65
|Rank: Silent Judge
|HP: 11,500/11,500
|MP: 0
| Excruciatus, also called the Chamber of Judgement, stands apart. They are the hidden blade of the Silent Sisterhood, their investigators, their hunters, their judges. Tasked with rooting out concealed psykers and those who sheltered them, the Excruciatus operate without hesitation or mercy. At their lowest rank are the Questora, but even they are far from ordinary.
| Chosen from across the Sisterhood, these operatives possessed razor-sharp perception, disciplined minds, and unwavering resolve. Their duties went beyond mere investigation, though. They were trained to lead raids and strike directly at horrors most would never dare face.
| At the pinnacle of their order stand the Silent Judges. Feared even among their own, these elite could sense psykers before they revealed themselves, peel truth from deception, and, when necessary, drag secrets from the unwilling.
STR: 86
VIT: 101
DEX: 98
INT: 55
WIS: 120
LUK: 20
Wargear:
|Executioner Greatblade
|Archeotech Plasma Pistol
|Adhratic Destructor
Special Traits:
High Arbiter
| Grants command authority over all Sisters in range
| +20% coordination & reaction speed to allied Sisters
| Can override hesitation or fear effects
Absolute Judgement
| +30% damage vs psykers, daemons, and Warp entities
| Attacks partially ignore defences
Enhanced Null Field
| Stronger Null Field radius
| Severely disrupts Warp abilities in proximity
-
After making their way deeper into the Underhive, they finally reached the hidden headquarters which Gerhard and Sera Vahl had constructed over the last few months. It offered easy protection and was reinforced through very thick metal walls, which Gerhard spent a lot of time on.
As they entered, he got out of the Iron Monger and approached the group, only to suddenly stagger.
...
He felt the world tilt, his mind was present and clear, but his soul... well, it felt as if it had been plunged into an endless black hole...
"Urrghh..."
Gerhard vomited and was suddenly hit in the face from somewhere and then pressed to the ground. The last thing he saw clearly was the three faces of the Silent Sisters, who held their weapons to his face and signed with their hands...