Temples on top of Temples
Vulpis had been abandoned decades earlier under threat of xenos invasions, turning major cities into windswept ghost towns. As the Indomitus Crusade had pushed the boundaries of the Holy Imperium back to their historic past, such worlds were being revisited in their thousands.
The small group of officials of the Logos Historica Verita were finishing their mapping work in the sub-levels of the Vulpis high cathedral when the rumbling started. The columns of the tall church rattled and dust poured off ledges and railings, making the whole interior cloudy. The heavy bass rumble continued and sounds of stone scraping against stone filled the hall.
Sister Jovenata and her unit of scarlet armoured Battle Sisters, had been providing security for the Imperial operation. Now she urged the Logos staff to return to their shuttle as it felt like the whole structure might come down. Evacuation of any holy relics would have to wait. She was trying to usher the bureaucrats towards the heavy double doors as the first large flagstone tiles collapsed into the dark basement, leaving an enormous 20 foot wide chasm down the middle of the cathedral floor.
“Move!! It’s not safe here anymore!”
The swarm of scurrying golden metal beetles that emerged from the gaping void under the cathedral told her that this was no natural phenomenon. Some sort of mechanical monsters had been roused and Sister Jovenata barked orders for her small force to safeguard the retreat.
As golden machines continued to scramble out of the cathedral, the Imperial contingent boarded its shuttle. The small force of Adeptas Sororitas formed up to meet this surprising new enemy. The Penitent Engine strode forward on long legs to the cathedral doors and poured holy fire over a large group of animated skeletons, felling half their number. The Battle Sisters watched in horror as the flame-charred automata rose to their feet again only to be hit by another blast of fire. Again they rose. These monsters would not die!
Suddenly, much larger and faster skeletal monsters moved forward with jerky motions, plowing into the Penitent Engine in a blur of shimmering powerblades. It was cut to pieces. An enormous towering beetle moved out of the cathedral, half floating, half walking on spindly metal legs. A massive energy weapon on its back pulsed blue fire at the Battle Sister squad, killing two of them.
As Battle Sisters took up defensive positions, a unit of Sisters Repentia bravely charged from their advancing Rhino and killed all but one of the bladed horrors that had destroyed the Penitent Engine. But, in seconds the metal fragments of the monsters seemed to self-animate and rapidly reassembled as if no damage had been suffered. The entire unit of Repentia was cut down.
Canoness Laurentia, leading her unit of halberd-wielding Sacrosancts, ordered the Seraphim forward to assess the size of the enemy force. Carried on their San Leor pattern jump packs, the sisters deployed to the enemy rear, only to be quickly overwhelmed by endless swarms of scraping, stabbing, skittering beetles. At the same time, the bladed horrors galloped into the now empty Rhino and began to cut large chunks out of its armoured hide.
Laurentia saw what was possibly the enemy leader at the head of the horde of golden skeletons the Penitent Engine had doused in flame. She pressed forward with her sisters and crashed into the unit, reducing every single horror construct to bits of golden scrap. As the tall leader fell back, it was clear none of its bodyguard would rise again.
The retreat was short-lived, as the Canoness, wielding the holy Blade of Saint Ellynor, pushed on and severed the head from its body.
Laurentia withdrew with haste, managing to board the Imperial shuttle just as its engines started to lift it off the ground. So many lives had been lost to this mysterious enemy. This, she knew, was but the first encounter with these horrors. She mouthed silent prayers to the fallen sisters, as she began to consider the outline of her eventual report to the Ecclesiarchy. Her report and the attached request for an assault in force on this new enemy.
++++++ Final Result: Nihilakh Dynasty 50 Order of the Holy Rose 47 +++++