Chapter 2: The Liberation

by (c) Kaare Rud Flarup


I am now 68 years old, and thanks to my status as Most Honored Traveling Judge, I, Kretin Helmenov, am still in perfect psychical condition - that is, apart from my bionic arm. I have kept it all these years to remind me of the horrible defeat I suffered on Starium 35 years ago. A whole city and five suburbs were left as a burned scar on the ground, left me with the responsibility of over three million dead. A personal responsibility that is - to the Imperium it was only standard procedure.

During these 35 years I have only taken assignments that would take me to places I wanted to go, to search for Genestealers. My superiors have accepted it, but they tell me that we killed all the Genestealers during the cleansing. They are only fooling themselves, they are too afraid of this intelligent species. Nobody believes, or want to believe, that they have changed behavior - and now can accept defeat. I am the only one who really knows this.

Now my space ship is entering the system of Dharran, where I properly will find nothing, like all the other times.

-- -- --

The Cursed Judge has landed on our moon, Venis IV, and he must die. My Magus begs me to hide, tells me that if we murder the Judge the others will become suspicious. I know they will only be relieved! Helmenov is an embarrassment, a man some thinks are insane - little do they know that he is correct.

I wonder how much I should risk to take him out. We are now 153 Pure Ones, I have not wasted any time. Most are still growing though, I wish he had waited five years. Still I have 35 children with full-fledged powers, and with half this moon's population, 2.4 millions, behind me he is dead the moment I really want him dead. Yet I don't want a violent revolt, I don't want my coming family dead. They must have the chance of having The Liberation.

I will bring The Liberation to this whole galaxy, and after that to the Universe. I am Immortal, but still I will properly die by accident, or be murdered, before we reach my goal. One of my children will be victorious though, of that I am sure!

-- -- --

My glorious Father, Mirh'chee, first son of the God-Father, have ordered me to kill the Cursed Judge. I have been chosen. For my courage! For my loyalty! For my skill!

Loaded with almost 40 kilos of D-HDDY, I will get into his space ship with the Inspectors. My death will be a great funeral fire in the sky.

Captain Hao has told the Arbites ship to hold everybody inside, as he fears they might have brought a plague with them. They have no reason to disbelieve him - he worked at the Arbites Headquarters for this Sector before he came to visit his sister here. She was just about to give birth to a Pure One, and we allowed him into the family. Now he spends all his free time working for the Cult, instead of collecting useless Logbooks as before.

They disguise me as a Plague-Searcher, and in this big anti-infection suit, they can't notice my extra arm - which marks me as better than them.

-- -- --

This search is taking rather long, it must be a very dangerous decease. I tell Hao my rank again, and say that I personally could be checked, and then be allowed to go to the surface. He refuses, and says it will not take more than an hour more.

Security breach at level 46, section 55! The man reporting is dying, mumbling madly about a hideous man with an extra arm with a gruesome claw. I look at Hao but he just shrugs, and begin speaking rather loudly about men cracking if too long is space. I do manage to hear the dying man say something about explosives before blood in his wind pipe stops him.

I would never have survived this long if I wasn't a quick thinker. I instantly run past Hao toward his inspection ship, yelling back at him to come with me. I manage to get four more of my men with me, while I give orders to those going down to find the monster. We reach the ship, and I order Hao to head away from the planet at maximum speed. He hesitates, but then runs for the bridge.

I would never have survived this long, either, if I hadn't trusted my instincts and intuition. Now something tells me there is something very wrong with Hao. I order my men to get to the bridge and grab Hao, while I myself run for the engine room. I run past several crew members, and find the place. Looking in I see four men battering at the power supply. I get in, shut the door behind be, and order the men to stop. They look at me, and one second later they are jumping at me with mad looks in their eyes. I try to quick draw my bolt pistol, but I only get one of them before they are on top of me.

They are very strong, and as we wrestle two of them loose their hair - it is false. Their big work clothes are ripped open, and I am again face to face with my worst nightmare. I scream GENE-LIGHTNING, and the three are thrown away from me like broken dulls. I feel the jolt myself, but my armor has been custom built for this - so at least I won't be killed.

The two big ones aren't dead! I haven't even gotten over my own reduced jolt, and they got it two thousand times worse - and they aren't even unconscious! I hear shooting in the hall, and know my men will be here in just a few seconds. Just as the first hybrid gets ready to jump, someone kicks the door open and Henrich open fire with a bolter. Henrich always hits, and half a second later all three are dead.

He begins to help me up, but I order him to get this ship going, NOW. He begin to power the damaged engine up, but I manage to get up and while falling down again I push the power handle all the way down. We are thrown against the wall as the ship jump forward. I had felt it change course away from the planet, so I dared to do this.

Henrich doesn't quite understand, but four or five seconds later we are thrown even harder against the wall. I know my flag ship is gone.

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Victory!

Of course I am sad that one of my grandchildren had to go, but he had already passed his genes on. He died one of the most glorious deaths which will ever be allotted to a lower Cult member. Captain Hao and his crew didn't even know about the missions character, so bad they and their ship had to go too.

Magus Hamilrimon is right now personally making sure that they will delete Hao and his ship from all planetary records. The Arbites ship will just mysteriously have exploded. More than five hundred elite law enforcers dead by one child's hand - among them, the Cursed Judge.

Now it is only five years until my children and grandchildren will be spread over this sector. We will liberate all major planets within a thousand light-years soon afterwards. The Empire of Truth will arise, ruled by the Pure Ones forever and ever!

-- -- --

Our only hope now is that the explosion has hidden us from planetary scanners. We have found no traces of other survivors than us. The purging of this vehicle killed Johnson, leaving me with Henrich, J'dnu and Ike. Four elite soldiers against a world of Genestealers! No wait, calm down, there oughtn't be more than maybe ten Genestealers after this time. On the other hand, this mutated cult could in the right closed environment spread like a wildfire. Pitting us against hundreds of Genestealers!

For now I decide not to tell my shaken men that there could be hundreds of Genestealers below us. Ike says we must hail the nearest ship and get out of here. He doesn't know that this cult might be controlling all ships within hundreds of light years. This sector is pretty closed off, and just the perfect place for them. I tell them we can't do that - we have to go to the planet surface and steal a ship for ourselves. Four men can't take a ship from crazed hybrids.

We are now approaching the planet, and we plan to crash-land in an as desolate area as possible. If the Patriarch hears about a crash, we are as good as dead. I steer toward a mountain range, and we prepare for a rough landing.

Both of Ike's legs are broken! I stand staring at the horizon a little away from the crash site. Henrich is Ike's Squad Leader, he must "administer the final service" as the Astartes call it. He comes up and lay a hand on my shoulder, it is already over. We can't even cremate Ike as he asked to be, we just bury him three feet down. The other two camouflages their uniform, I just say "Order Camo" and my armor does the trick.

The wood is made up of tall coniferous trees, making it difficult to hide. Unfortunately in this situation, they have not exactly made Arbites weapons to be soundless. We try to trim them down so they won't be quite as loud, we do not want crowd spreaders now. If it comes to hostilities, it won't be hard to hear where we are, though.

J'dnu has spotted a weather station, and I have to decide if we should go around it, or hope to find some vehicle there. If there's more than ten Genestealers on this planet I want to get away, so we sneak forward. My helmet finds only one life form within 25 yards, and it turns out to be an old snoring man. Henrich is afraid they might have infected him, but I am pretty sure the 'Stealers would have killed such an unimportant old man.

-- -- --

I walk high in the mountains, my legs are young and fit. No one has ever climbed this ridge so fast before, I am the best climber on thi ... Uh, were am I? The jaw of a man is hanging in front of me - speaking. I begin falling over, but there is a swirl in the air and something grabs the chair. "Oh sorry, Order Deac Camo," the jaw says, and suddenly an enormous Judge stands before me - luckily he still has a firm grip on the chair.

Oh my, the Judge says this planet properly is infected with aliens in human and near human shapes! I wonder if Coorman is infected - he acted so strange last time he was here. No, he had just caught a cold. The Judge asks me about something again, I ask him to repeat it again. He does a sign to a bush looking thing behind him, and it comes forward and grab me, carrying me outside. Uuuuh, I can't breathe with my head down the water barrel, don't they know that?

I cough and cough, and realize I had drunken a bottle of Red Mountain Wildsnake, how embarrassing. I'm still unsure on my feet, but I understand now that the Judge and his men, not bushes, want transportation. They are very disappointed at hearing I don't own anything myself, but get more hopeful as I tell them of Colebridge's ranch.

I lead the way, Judge Helmenov right behind me if I should fall. A little before the ranch we sneak among the trees. Something that scares three big Arbites - I don't think I want to see it! We come up from behind, to see persons in baggy, dirty, cloaks leading some of Colebridge's helirs into a cattle truck. Colebridge is laying tied up just inside the truck. The Arbites move according to Helmenov's signs, and open fire within a minute.

One of the dirty persons is running at me, little does he know of the big branch I have behind my back - and I am pretty good at using it. When he gets to me, I hit him sideways with all the strength I got - but impossible fast something strikes out from under the baggy cloak and cuts the branch into three pieces. It is a gigantic claw! The thing rips its clothes apart, and I stand before a terrifying monster. Just before fainting I hear someone yell "duck."

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We have put the old man on the back of the truck after he fainted. I wish there were no need to expose him further - but we need all the information and help we can get. J'dnu is driving as fast as possible through this wild countryside. On one hand we have to get out of here safe, and on the other we'll never get out if we aren't fast.

Henrich spots a small village ahead. If the monsters were taking Colebridge with them to infect him, I'll bet this town is corrupted already. Doesn't matter anyway, we'll just have to kill anyone seeing us.

I order Henrich to take the gas station, J'dnu the bar. Myself, I kick the door to the first house in, opening fire when I see anything moves. Firing my bolter one handed, my bolt pistol in the other, I dispatch of one man, two women, one boy and a cat. If they have not infected them, I at least saved them from being it.

Looking out the window I see Henrich in a firefight with a couple of army men. They are both completely bald. I use the short-range comm to command J'dnu to block exit from the village. Then I get out the way I came in, and circle the gas station.

The army men might not know it, but they got one clear advantage. We can't allow the station to blow up - that would alert everyone with miles. I tell Henrich to stop using his bolter and get into hiding. Taking a bolt pistol in each hand, I sneak in through the stations cellar door. It's dark and damp - I sure hope there isn't leaking any gasoline down here. Luckily nothing happens as I pass, and I tell Henrich to start firing.

I leap up from the cellar behind the counter - a lasgun shot promptly strike out after me, they must have heard me. I order my camo on, and the guy who shot after me looks around confused. Wasting no time, I shoot him simultaneously in the chest with both pistols. I duck behind the counter again and the blood and torn flesh splatter the wall behind me. I try edging my way around the counter while staying in cover, but Arbites armor sure isn't made for this. Ordering Henrich to attack I just rise and start shooting. There are seven army men in here! I decide to duck again, and suggest Henrich to fall flat as I trow two frag grenades at them. Two of them try to jump in cover behind the counter - but having thought of that I lay on my back firing my pistols as they are falling down on me. Then the grenades go of.

-- -- --

Help, the big red devil who waited at the edge of our village is still after me. He killed my father and mother without any reason! I never really believed Gril'lhrn'chcen when he thought us about those evil devil-men. Now I know that they ARE ruthless killers who want to destroy The Dream of Truth. For some reason they don't want peace and order in the galaxy - rather they want the chaos and evil to go on. The stories mother told about the evil Carrion God are properly true too! Twigs hit me in the head and I almost fall. I can't think of that now, I have to run and warn the Family.

Crashing out into a glade I find myself near the Floridge caves, they are my only hope!

-- -- --

I hate this! Chasing an eleven or twelve year old boy, with the purpose of cold-blooded murder in this dirty war. Still, I have no choice. Entering a glade I see him running for some caves. I manage to get a running shot off, but it is way of. Running into the cavern, the HT, heat tracker, tells me he has squeezed into a small opening. The kid properly knows these caves. I trow a plasma grenade as hard as I can into the hole, and gets the hell out of there.

The cave front is collapsing, the grenade is melting everything down in there. No way anyone can have survived that.

A loud explosion tells me that someone tried to get out of town while I was gone. Dumb civilians, fortunately, can't even see crude booby traps. Getting back on the road, I finish off a man who just lost one leg. My second trap hasn't blown, so he was the only one.

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It hurts, it hurts - IT HURTS! Grandfather, Grandfather, hear me. Mom told me the Pure Ones could hear us when in despair, so I'm think of sending my despair to them with my mind.

I don't know if my eyes work anymore as it properly is completely dark in here, but my right one feels all messy and soft. I seems I have been lying here for a day, but it can't be more than half an hour. My legs lie broken under a lot of rocks, and I can't summon any more energy from my tired arms - I just can't get out myself.

I hope Grandfather comes for me! Also mother, but I like Grandfather the most.

-- -- --

Having secured the little village I discover that Henrich is hit in the leg by a lasgun. He's ready to go on to help out escape, even though we all know he'll most properly get killed. We help him over to the jeep, and the first good thing happens on this planet - there's a medi-kit in it! I take it and tell Henrich to lie down on the ground. All I have to do is placing the kit over his leg and press a few buttons. Surely enough, three minutes after no one, except for the hole in his pants, can see he was shot.

This jeep is in good condition, and far better suited for our purpose than the old truck. We drive down the down but after just five hundred yards we hear heavy engines up ahead. Desperately looking for a hole in the trees I finally have to crash the jeep in there, and hope for the best. Through the dense wood we see two troop transports and a bulldozer driving past as fast as they can. They are sure to find the devastated village now - our chances just fell from a percent to one in a thousand or ten thousand.

We can just as well go back and spy on them, they'll have radioed the city troops in a minute anyway. Stealthing our way back through the wood we discover they didn't drive into the village. Instead the bulldozer have driven directly into the trees, opening up a passage for the transports. J'dnu draws a sharp breath, and quickly tell of the boy in the caves.

This is getting worse and worse, no radio the boy could have had will from inside those caves. If they can use telepathy too it is just too much! We circle the glade and find the troops clearing the collapsed caves. They use the bulldozer hard on until one of those tall bald men suddenly rises his hand. Then they use their hands to clear away a small amount of rubble - and pull a crippled boy out.

The boy's legs looks like boneless lumps, and hit face is burned by the grenade. He can only have survived by sheer force of will. The bald man suddenly turns sharply around, and seems to look directly in our direction with his burning eyes. My muscles tighten, but he turn away and instead put his hand on the boy's head. The body twist and the troopers throw the boy on the ground and one draws a hand flamer and set him on fire - they don't even shoot him first!

The shrieks have already stop before the vehicles a back on the road.

I am at a loss of what to do now. There's only one city with spaceport capabilities on this world, and now the cult only have to guard the few ships there are. If the cult is still lead by the same Genestealer, it'll surely also have learned not to underestimate me. Oh, if it just was ordinary Genestealers on fifty planets, instead of these mutants on one!

J'dnu suggests we find the old man again, and see if he can remember some old ships lying somewhere on the planet. The troops in town will be most alert the first few days, so we can just as well do it.

-- -- --

I don't like to have to bring this new to The Father. Sadly his Magus, Hamilrimon, is on Hjerinni 4 so I have to do it.

The Father is not happy at all. I am so happy the Pure Ones care so much for us. Some Governor might have killed the bearer of bad new. Why I don't like bringing Him bad new is because I don't like to see him distressed!

He asks me if we could survive if we burned the forest down! Both happy and sad I tell him that would be impossible.

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Those humans think they're so smart. They thought we would be blind enough as not to leave a scout behhind. Maybe they didn't think it would be one of us. I am young though, and this mission will make The Father like me very much. Maybe he will even, in time, place me higher than Mirh'chee. His First True Son he might be, but he'll never make a good general. The Father can't take care of everything himself when we spread futher out, and Mirh'chee won't be good enough to help him.

I am following the three Judges, among them the Cursed Judge, as they seemingly are walking back toward their crashed ship. They never suspected the flat tire to be made by me. Following them is almost too easy, I must beware of the Cursed Judge and his custom armor though.

They are making camp for the night. They got no parameter surveillance equipment or defense - they are as good as dead. No wait, it would be to kind just to kill them.

One on guard duty. I make just enough noise to raise his suspision, but not enough to make him wake the others. He walks slowly directly toward me, almost there now.

-- -- --

What was that snapping noise? I rise, order night vision and run toward where the sound seemed to come from. J'dnu is lying unconsious on the ground, his helmet off and a big branch half over him. The branch must have fallen on his head, but why he had his helmet off I don't know.

He is slowly waking up again, helped by the cold water Henrich got from the stream. He groans and feels on his head, finding the big swelling. He tells me he went to check a noise, and he can't remember anything after that. Well, we have to get some sleep so I take over the watch.

We're back with the old man, and he DOES know about old crashes. As I guessed most ships have been scavenged, but he thinks some of them might be OK. Being to old for such a quest, the best he can do is drawing us some maps. The nearest, but oldest, crash site is only about four hours away. Picking up as much food as possible, we head out.

The ship is in tatters. Not that there was much here to begin with, but someone, or something, has been here not long ago.

J'dnu is staring strangely into the woods again. He has been acting a little strangly after the hit in the head. We can't afford to loose a man.

-- -- --

My life is so cold and empty of love. First I was overjoyed merely by being liberated, but now I need my liberator and the rest of the family. My new father is watching from the tree line, so close but yet so far. He is wisely wary of Helmenov, and we can't make our move yet. We will wait until he is tired after checking more destroyed ships.

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Damn, I'm tired. Four sites and all destroyed thoroughly. I can't imagine how it could have been done so fast. If they had mapped the sites out beforehand, the places would have been destroyed long ago. Something is definitely wrong. I will make an impression of being more tired than I really am, and see if it is some deadly game.

J'dnu says he will make a patrol, first thing he has done independent in a long time. Now wait a minute, he is trying to get around my back isn't he? I ready the blind grenade harness in my armor and prepare for everything. I hear a bolter being readied behind me, and in the trees to the right something is moving toward me. I instantly discharge the grenades, and roll to the left.

-- -- --

J'dnu is halfway around Kretin and he is readying his bolter. The problem is that he is facing Kretin. There is something coming through the trees over there! Several blind grenades detonates around Kretin. I press my back to a crumbled part of the crashed ship. A Genestealer is running toward me! I start trying to get a shot, but it is all ready to close. I manage to draw my bolt pistol before it is upon me.

A clawed hand comes in from the lower right, a claw from the upper. I see an opening and falls to the right - the hand making a long scratching noise over my armor. It is almost impossible to survive close combat against Genestealers, and I can't keep an eye on four deadly arms.

Looming above me, it will be almost impossible to miss. It doesn't come on me. It is gone. I see Kretin and J'dnu shooting at each other. I move to protect Kretin's back when I hear something behind me. Again I remove all tension from my legs, twisting my body around while falling down. This time it comes at me. The left hand shoots forward under my bolt pistol, and the shot only manage to graze its shoulder. I roll left, its right arms are not so dangerous is I keep moving to one side all the time.

When I come face up again it has already sidestepped and both claws are descending in one irresistible strike. Twisting my body to the right they slit my armor like butter, I think some of my ribs just got sliced. The automatic anti-pain injection just removed all feeling from the right side of my body. I rise the bolt pistol I have to watch my arm to know where it is. It makes it too slow - the Genestealer grabs my arm with its left hand. I watch as it cut the lower part of my arm off. I try to roll to the right, getting it away from Kretin - but halfway I hear a loud crack as if all my ribs just were torn from my body.

-- -- --

It must be Henrich fighting for his life right behind me, but J'dnu shooting much better than usual. As if he had a spotter on this side of the stone. There is a loud tearing, splitting noise and turning around. I see a Genestealer getting rid of Henrich's chest. A good thing I am no rookie. It sees me bring up my gun, and throws the carcass at me. My field throws it back, and the brilliant flash makes the monster scream and run wildly for the trees.

I manage two shots before is crash into the underbrush. One is close to the head - but I don't see if it wounded it.

Turning around I see no track of J'dnu. I am alone against a Genestealer and one of my former men. I have no idea how clever this thing is, while J'dnu has been with me for over a SGT month. It will take more than a miracle to get alive out of this. Transferring all armor energy to scanners I see one form, which isn't moving, and another which is moving toward the first. I realize than I will only survive by attacking now - I charge.

-- -- --

Father is calling me. Running as fast as I can, I spot Kretin running for him too. Father should have listened to me when I warned him of Henrich. Henrich has been with Kretin for more than six years, and he had to be very good to survive that. He saved my life once.

We enter the little glade simultaneously. Running to cover Father with my body, and without Fathers guiding I can't hit Kretin. He hits me in the leg while I jump in front of Father. I can feel Father getting better - but he says I must hold for a few seconds more.

-- -- --

The ways the infected acts to protect the monsters are unbelievable! J'dnu throw his bolter away and do his best to cover the 'Stealers body. I run forward while blasting away just around his body - the shots will never go though, and our Judge drugs will keep him alive for half a minute after he should be dead. The 'Stealer is the key.

I though myself safe trying to shoot from behind J'dnu's body, but a claw strikes though his stomach and nearly cut my left leg off.

This might turn out to my advantage though. Grabbing its arm with my bionic arm, I can hold it trapped behind J'dnu's body. Hoping for the best I reach forward and drop a grenade on the other side of J'dnu's body. It is insane using a plasma grenade within a yard of yourself - but I haven't any choice.

The claw-arm comes free of the Genestealer - got that at least. Unfortunately my field doesn't flare, and the edges of my armor become white. Knowing the plasma might expand any moment I rise and run awkwardly away. My left leg will be ruined by this, leaving me to find another bionic replacement.

Almost out of expanding range now! My leg twists with a sickening rending noise. Fearfully I protect my face while waiting to the plasma to die out. There is went out. I survived a minute more.

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That Cursed Judge! Aaaaaaaaaarghhhh! I lost contact with H'hrergh'jhehiou' ghreen. I know it would be foolish to hope him dead – he never does seem to die. Some Imperial functionaries have theories regarding the Primarch's geneseed; that some of it was passed on while they lived on their worlds millennia ago. Some people's endless courage and seemingly superhuman powers could come from this! Kretin sure seems to be superhuman…

-- -- --

The drugs must have worn out because I feel an enormous pain in my leg. Forcing my eyes open I see they are phantom pains – there is no limp to cause the pain. Staring into the ceiling I wonder were I am. I'm not feeling any bond to any great "Father", so I can't be infected.
I manage to speak some weak sounds alerting an old woman just outside the doorway. She looks me over and speaks to me in a nearly understandable Imperial dialect. I understand as much that I'll survive and that she'll be getting the village's wise man, the Claarehen. He quickly appears and start asking me question about "the Kolemorheen", apparently the villagers name for the Genestealers. They have old horror legends of them but are naturally terrified of finding them on their own planet.

-- -- --

Sitting in my carrying chair, I'm still annoyed about my First Son. Mirh' chee is still troubled at home; I feel it. He must understand that even I will have to take risks once in a while to achieve my goals, I must hunt down Kretin myself. Mirh'chee didn't even suggest himself instead of me, he is too much a coward. It is too bad that H'ghreen failed getting Kretin, he would be a far better and appreciate First Son to me. On the other hand he failed killing three mere humans – alone with them in a forest! We landed near H'ghreens body, or rather what was left of it. Twenty of my Pure Sons and 53 lesser sons and daughters. If this force can't take out Kretin nothing can, then he must surely be a Primarch's many times great-grandson. The more of my Son and sons he kills, the more I want his genes.
Soon my spotters find an abandoned village under the overhang of a cliff. I wasn't aware that a mere cliff could block the orbital scanners, I must talk with my Magus when he gets back, I don't want any unliberated humans on this planet. Kretin must be weakhearted if he is trying to save the villagers; he can't afford to if he want to warn his crumbling Imperium.
The tracks are _too_ easy to follow. Maybe he has gone another way himself, or it's an ambush, or a dozen other possibilities. But spread out in the forest my True Sons will find anyone - and I know if and where they are killed - so the Judge cannot win this one.

-- -- --

Crawling up the cliff with a third of the village Heelona's populations I can see the movements everywhere in the forest below. Soon the monsters will take the rest of the population, so now I can only hope they won't make them talk so soon.
It didn't take them long to find them! I can see the shifting branches, marking the closing circle around the poor souls. Quickly hereafter the screaming begin.

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What a pathetic excuse for humans! There were only a couple of children that might have turned out good enough - if we had the time to carry them along. No, I must direct my attention back toward the village - Kretin must be near, we found the leftovers from his leg.

-- -- --

They're coming back all too soon - as I feared they might if they didn't take any prisoners, or rather: infected someone. Looking down upon the village's open meeting place, I can only hope I'll get a clear throw with my plasma and krak grenades. If I can only kill the Patriarch they will get confused for at least an hour - or will they? This damn new breed forces me to learn their ways all over again, leaving me in a very dangerous situation - but then again it is always extremely hazardous dealing with Genestealers.
There they enter the market place. Seemingly there is no Magus with them, that gives me a one in a hundred chance - instead of one in a million. The smaller Genestealers secure the area, the hybrids taking up safe positions. If one of them spots me it is all over, I got to throw my grenades as quickly as possible.

-- -- --

Ah I got you now Kretin. Wait, if the tracks are leading around the cliff - he might as well be lying on top of it, planning a wild attempt on my life. Little does he about my new habits.

-- -- --

Almost there now - wait what is that ugly grin spreading on the Patriach's head? He must know, and he is prepared to deal with me. I have to come up with a new plan quickly. Suddenly a strange hole opens up in the middle of the group of people behind me - there must have been a Magus hidden somewhere! The Genestealers start appearing, tearing up men, women and children as they run for me. With a grim thought back to the slaughtering on Starium - but knowing it is for their own good - I start throwing plasma grenades into the middle of what is left of the sorry community. Concealed by the mighty blasts I limp forward on my wooden leg, trying to jump over the side of the cliff, but finally have to roll to get over it. Knowing I will soon be pulp on the rocks below, I manage a weak grin - the ugly monstrosities did not get me!

...

Lying in the regeneration unit I can't understand my thoughts in that moment. Of course, I did little understand how caring my fathers and the Father are. A good thing the Father - opposed to all Patriachs before him - had learned psychic powers from his Magus. He lifted me gently down with his powers, luckily my suit was to broken then to resist him. The other Genestealer Cults I have met have been but pawns on the Hive Mind's game table. This, no MY OWN, cult is no-ones pawns. The Father has an enormous insight and he will bring The Dream of Truth to reality!

THE END of The Pure Ones 2: The Liberation

The story is continued in: "The Pure Ones 3: The Dream of Truth"

RETURN TO THE PURE ONES

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