[i]001.M31[/i]

[i]Spacehulk above the Imperial planet Casan.[/i]

[i]During Day 1 of the Council of Nikea[/i]

The space hulk was a ruined mess, as was to be expected. Who knew how many ships had been smashed together while lost in the warp, and the various ‘improvements’ the orks had made. The rusted ship  and jagged edges creaked and groaned under the strain of unnatural existence. The only light came from Kaldun and his Vanguards as they made their way through the space hulk. The Primarch’s unnecessarily loud voice echoed through the ship as he spoke to his First Company Captain.“Chandrian! How goes the evacuation of the crash zones in Casan?!” 

“High Lord Boamiel reports that all civilians have been cleared out of the impact zones and that the Golden Corp is in the process of cleansing any ork infestation that may have clung to the wreckage. In addition, the Mechanicus is on its way to secure any viable technology that may be on this space hulk. They specifically request that we limit the damage that we do to the ship as we cleanse it of the ork infestation.” Chandrian replied in a quieter tone, carefully bringing up the rear of the group as they made their way deeper into the center of the space hulk. 

Kaldun laughed. “They will make due with what we leave! Any damage that we do is unlikely to be the deciding factor after all! And it is far more important that we cleanse the ship, or ships I suppose, of any ork presence than it is that we preserve any of this rotten technology!”

The cleansing was going well. The orks were putting up their characteristic fight, but with a Primarch facing them and their numbers limited by the close quarters nature of the fight, the Golden Spears were having no problem methodically making their way through the warped mass of ships and burning away any trace of ork presence with flamer and psychic power.  There was something at the center of the space hulk  that was concerning, however. A pulsating psychic power that Kaldun and his Vanguards could feel in their very bones. It was likely the source of the mutations in the orks they had seen thus far, though that could just as easily be the fact that the foul creatures had traveled unprotected through the warp. 

They traveled down the hallway in silence for a few minutes before Chandrian broke the quiet. “Once again, Kaldun, I must suggest that you return to the [i]Conqueror’s Blade[/i] and hasten to the Council. It has already been one day and will take you another to get there. Surely you would like to add your voice to the debate about the Edict?”

Kaldun laughed, waving a dismissive hand in front of him. “It is a ridiculous debate! The Edict is necessary to continue the strength of the Imperium and my siblings will no doubt see that!  The few who have issues with it are that abomination Sarghual, Usriel and Augor! The latter two can be convinced, and the former outvoted! I have no doubt that the matter was put to rest promptly and with little drama within the first day! Besides, I am no orator! I leave that to Sekhmetara or Micholi! They are both eloquent speakers! No, I am best served here! Spear in hand and protecting the Imperium from danger!”

An ork appeared as they reached an intersection, leaping at Kaldun and swinging an axe with a guttural roar.  Before the crude weapon could even reach him, the Primarch’s hand shot forward and crushed the creature’s head in his fist. He tossed the body aside with another laugh, looking over his shoulder at Chandrian. The gore on his palm began to hiss as it tried to melt through his armor. He burned it away with fire, still laughing. “See?! I can’t do that at the Council! Valdor would be very upset if I tried to!”

Chandrian sighed. “Yes Kaldun. Though I must repeat that your presence there would only help rather than hinder things. The Edict cannot have enough voices in its defense.”

“You worry too much Chandrian! My siblings and the Emperor will see the righteousness of the Edict, never fear!”

If there were any doubts in the mind of the Captain of the first company, they had no time to be voiced as a chorus of growls and roars echoed through the ruined halls of the ship, seemingly coming from in front of and behind them. The first ork was only a scout. The rest were coming. Kaldun grinned, gripping his spear tighter. “Ready, Chandrian?!” The Captain smirked, turning around to cover their backs. “Always, Kaldun.” 

They came in an unorganized mass, snarling and howling. Most of them only had crude melee weapons, likely ripped from the ship itself, but a few had actual weaponry. The bullets ripped through the air above the heads of the other orks, hitting a few that were just slightly too tall, and came to a stop in front of Kaldun’s face. He grinned as they fell to the ground, the Golden Spear’s bolter firing from behind him to answer the attack. He lifted his own spear up and pointed it down the hall. “I admire the courage of you orks! Even if it can be seen as stupidity!” The Thunder of Labrys shone bright gold and crackled with electricity as he channeled his psychic power through it. 

With a thunderous [i]crack[/i] the power was released and golden lightning ripped through the horde before him. Those that were hit directly by the lightning exploded, their mutated blood burning and melting the flesh of the other orks around them. Those that were beside them were thrown backwards and into the walls by the force of his attack. Their ears bled from the damage the sound had done. Behind him, Kaldun felt the heat and heard the screams as Chandrian burned away the ork infestation. A good idea, to make the job of the Mechanicus forces easier. Kaldun moved his spear in a slow line in front of him, leaving golden flames twisting in the air before him. As the orks before him struggled to pick themselves up and counter attack he stabbed forward with his spear in a quick gesture and a wave of golden flames erupted out before him. The remaining orks were turned to ash without even a chance to roar in defiance, and the hall of the ship was left glowing red. 

Silence surrounded them as the last of the orks died. “Another successful battle!” Kaldun glanced behind him, grinning at his sons and Chandrian. Chandrian gave a nod and a smile in return. “We are close, Chandrian! Those orks came from the sources of that psychic disturbance, I know it! We will cleanse this wretched mass of ships yet!”

It didn’t take long to finally reach the source of the disturbance from there. They could feel it pressing against their skulls, like a knife being driven deeper in with each step they took. They began to hear a mechanical roaring as they drew closer, like metal being ripped apart. The ship around them seemed to vibrate with each roar and they finally saw what it was as they forcibly opened a rusted door. 

It was a gagrant. The foul shape that was meant to honor the ork gods was unmistakable. A warboss had clearly been trying to start his own vicious campaign through Imperial space with it. But unprotected travel through the Warp was dangerous, and he had paid the ultimate price. The countless orks that had been working on the Gagrant had been fused into the machine itself during the travel of the space hulk. It was as much a creature as it was a weapon now, with various faces, limbs, and mouths appearing and disappearing in the writhing mass of the gagrant’s body. 

The gagrant shifted and roared again. Its screams finally became clear now that they were in the room. “WAAAAAAAAAGH.” The familiar ork battle cry had a metallic screech to it, and the entire room shook with the power behind it. As Kaldun and his sons watched, the vibrations shook free dozens of globes of flesh from the gagrant that crackled with warp energy. The balls of flesh landed with sickening splats and shook before rapidly forming into new snarling orks. 

“The big one is mine!” Kaldun announced, pointing the Thunder of Labrys at the gagrant. “And what are we to do while you fight it?” Chandrian asked, looking up at the massive creature. 

“Simple! You keep the little ones from distracting me while I kill their father!” With that Kaldun was gone, charging towards the gagrant with an excited and bloodthirsty laugh. 

“Ah yes, clean up duty.” Chandrian sighed before gesturing forward, flames already forming around his hands. “Well, come on brothers. We’ll kill the little ones while he deals with the gagrant.

With a great leap Kaldun shot himself into the air, and golden wings shot out from his back to keep him in the air. He flew until he was looking down at the gagrant. “Feel the Flames of Conquest!” He drew in a deep breath, golden flames sparking around the edges of his mouth, and exhaled a torrent of honey colored fire straight into the face of the monster. “WAAAAAAGH!” The gagrant screamed again in response, a limb flailing towards Kaldun. He ducked under, laughing, and breathed the flames again onto the gagrant. Another scream and a flailing limb, easily dodged by the Primarch. He breathed even more fire onto the creature, raking its body with flames.  

“WAAAAAAAAAAGH!” The gagrant screamed in frustration, its entire body crackled with warp energy and a bolt of lightning shot forward at Kaldun. It slowed before it hit him, and Kaldun was sent a few feet back by the impact, spinning through the air. His armor smoked from the impact as he came to a stop, and he could feel the electricity still traveling through him. That had hur himt. He grinned at the realization. That had hurt him! “Ah! You can hit me! Good! That means you’re powerful enough to be worthy of my time!” 

Another bolt of lighting shot from the body of the gagrant. This time Kaldun was ready, and he dodged out of the way. “All those minds and you can’t think of a better idea!?”

He shot forward with his golden wings, dodging the attempts at hitting him again with lightning and flailing limbs of the gagrant. The Thunder of Labrys grew to twelve feet and once again began to glow with golden energy and crackling electricity. As he drew closer to the head of the gagrant it began to grow brighter and brighter until it was painful to look upon. 

He landed on the head of the monster and hefted his spear above his head with a bloodthirsty grin. “NOW FEEL THE MIGHT OF KALDUN, THE GOLDEN CONQUEROR!” With a roar of his own to match the scream of the gagrant, he shoved his spear down into the head of the creature and channeled all of his psychic power through it. The gagrant screamed in agony, golden lightning sparking across its body as it spasmed and flailed. Its body began to smoke and tear apart from the sheer force of psychic energy being forced into it. Kaldun threw his head back and laughed madly, exultant in victory. 

With a final scream, the gagrant wildly swung its limbs at Kaldun. Distracted as he was, he was only able to pull his spear free and attempt to block the attack to no avail. He was punted down to the ground and through the floor to a lower level. His sons followed through the hole he had made, finishing off the last of the orks around the dying gagrant. 

Chandrian walked over to the dent Kaldun had made in the lower floor. “Get up. You killed the beast. How are you feeling?” Kaldun sat straight up with a grin, spear hefted in the air triumphantly. 

“Flush with the glow of victory! It was only able to shock me and break a few bones! Nothing my powers cannot fix! We have sufficiently cleansed this hulk of any threat to the Mechanicus! Gather the rest of my sons! You and I will head to the Council, while the rest prepare for whatever crusade my father will send us on! This was a glorious day Chandrian! And you wanted to miss this for some boring Council!”