The Liberation of Auretia

Drakur stood at the precipice overlooking the encampment below.  The enemy had not yet noticed him, but he was sure that would change in the coming hours.  He did, after all, intend on slaughtering them to the last.  He felt the sword on his back quiver with excitement.  

“Silence, Alosael.  You have no business here yet,” Drakur barked in a hushed whisper behind him.

“(Fool Inquisitor, your death waits for you.  Those that serve my master will tear you limb from limb”) it responded in the depths of Drakur’s mind.  Drakur regretted brining the cursed object with him for a brief moment, but he realized that the capacity it could bring to combat would be far greater than the annoyances of a demon whispering into his ear.

“We shall see,” Drakur responded, more to himself than to the blade.  He smiled and shouldered his hellrifle, leaving the perch.  As he walked, those that he had come to trust began to step from the shadows and walk beside him.

“My dearest friend, what are we doing here?” a woman in a skin tight black suit asked.  Drakur looked at her and smiled.

“We are here to liberate Auretia, my dearest Emily.”

“But why this godforsaken place?” a man with a massive rifle slung over his shoulder asked.

“Because the Emperor wills his enemies dead.  Here are his enemies; we shall kill them.  Simple as that, Marcus.”

“Huh, good enough for me,” another man stated, standing and stretching as they walked by.

“It usually is, Thardon.  Careful now, we wouldn’t want to stir the fury…” Drakur cautioned.  Thardon scoffed and matched gait.  Drakur looked up and winced in pain as they approached a young woman stretched on a rock, seemingly sunning herself in hostile territory.

“Ah, Katheryne, care to join us?” Drakur asked.  She hopped from the rock and strode over to him wordlessly.  She placed a hand on his cheek, causing Drakur pain, though he didn’t show it.

“You always were a strange one, my lord,” she replied. “I never know why you keep me around.”

“You are all assassins in service of the Emperor.  I, as an instrument of the Emperor, have requisitioned you from the Officio Assassinorum to complete the tasks of liberating the Auretian sector from the Chaos scum that hold it.  Each of you have served me faithfully and loyally each time I have called upon you.  Now, I call upon you all again.  For victory, Assassins,” Drakur stated.

“For Victory, the Emperor, and Inqusitior Lord Redragon!” Thardon replied.  The others echoed the call as they boarded the small ship to return to the battle cruiser that Drakur had in deep orbit.  Any commander could check the scans and auspexes to see what he would face, but Drakur always preferred to see the enemy with his own eyes first.  Now, the battle would begin.