Warhammer 40k : Space Marine Kayvaan

The video ended abruptly. With a sharp click, white light filled the small room, dispelling the grim imagery of the recording. Elizabeth stepped into view, wearing her pristine white Sororitas habit. The slits in her uniform offered glimpses of long, toned legs, while her heels clicked against the polished floor with authority. She was striking, undeniably beautiful, her presence commanding attention. A figure like hers could stir desires even in the most pious of men—if not for the fact that she was a Judge of the Inquisition, someone no sane man would dare approach lightly. To Kayvan, it felt like a waste of such beauty.

Shaking off those lingering thoughts, Kayvaan leaned back and studied the woman. "What the hell was that?" he asked, gesturing toward the now blank screen. "A horror vid?"

"That," Elizabeth replied coldly, her voice sharp enough to cut through steel, "was the last thing seen by the fourteenth Inquisitor assigned to the Eastern Fringe. You've just witnessed what he saw in the moments leading up to his death. The Eldar not only killed him but also obliterated the monastry we had painstakingly built in secret. They even destroyed the research facility connected to it."

Her expression was icy, her tone laced with anger. It didn't take much to see that Elizabeth was in a foul mood. She paused, as if choosing her next words carefully, then continued, "For the Inquisition, this is an unacceptable loss—a humiliation we cannot tolerate. The Eldar of Alaitoc have mocked us, spit in our faces. But they will learn the true fury of the Emperor soon enough."

To Kayvaan, it was just another spectacle. He shrugged internally. The deaths of the Inquisition's people didn't bother him; if anything, their losses might make things easier for him in the long run. The fewer Inquisitors meddling in the Eastern Fringe, the better. Still, he feigned regret, if only to keep up appearances.

The regret, however, wasn't for the dead Inquisitor—it was for not having rations to enjoy the show properly. Suppressing a grin, he put on a solemn face, tilting his head in what he hoped passed for respectful contemplation. "I see," he said. "A tragic loss indeed."

Elizabeth didn't seem to notice his lack of genuine emotion. Instead, she stepped closer, her piercing gaze locked onto his. "You're probably wondering how we got this footage," she said, her tone flat but with an edge of challenge. "The video starts when the Inquisitor enters the town and ends minutes after his death. What you saw was a first-person perspective—his final moments."

Kayvaan raised an eyebrow. "So, what? He just happened to be recording? Doesn't seem like something your lot would bother with."

"Our Inquisitor knew his fate the moment his last acolyte fell," Elizabeth explained, her voice steady, though a trace of bitterness crept in. "He understood there was no escape—that death was inevitable. But even in the face of that, he chose to serve until the very end. He fled to the sanctuary not for his own safety, but to buy time. Time to gather intelligence."

Elizabeth's tone grew colder. "He performed surgery on himself during the voyage, replacing one of his eyes with a mechanical augmetic capable of recording and transmitting what he saw. His only thought was to leave us with knowledge of the enemy, even at the cost of unimaginable pain. Everything you saw—the enemy, their words, their actions—was captured by his eye. He paid for that knowledge with his life."

Kayvaan leaned back slightly, rubbing his jaw as he processed her words. He couldn't deny that the Inquisitor's actions were impressive, even admirable, in a grim way. The man's unwavering resolve and sacrifice deserved some measure of respect, regardless of how much Kayvaan disliked the Inquisition.

Elizabeth's voice broke through his thoughts. "I know many of you despise the Inquisition. Even if you won't say it, I know what you think. But understand this—every single one of us bleeds for the Imperium, just as much as any soldier on the front lines. We sacrifice, endure, and give everything for the Emperor."

Kayvaan's lips twitched, tempted to comment on her priorities—how "humanity" seemed to be an afterthought in her speech. But he bit his tongue, instead straightening up and adopting a solemn expression. "The blood of warriors will never be spilled in vain. May the Emperor bless his soul."

Elizabeth nodded curtly. "The Emperor protects. The mechanical eye was recovered by our intelligence team, buried in the wreckage among blood and broken flesh. Thanks to their speed and determination, we were able to retrieve this invaluable footage in such a short time."

The term "such a short time" echoed in Elizabeth's words, but from the moment the Inquisitor was killed to the intelligence personnel discovering the prosthetic eye, to the intel finally reaching Terra, the process had taken two full months. This meant the murder Kayvaan had just learned about actually happened two months ago. "Information from two months ago? That's practically ancient in a crisis. Eden 5 must be in real danger by now."

"Why do you say that?" Elizabeth asked, her tone carrying both skepticism and concern.

Kayvaan didn't hesitate. "It's a classic strategy: send elite forces to conduct targeted strikes, assassinating key intelligence operatives to paralyze or confuse the enemy's communications. Then follow up with a decisive, large-scale attack. It's an old tactic—the Raven Guard perfected it during the Great Crusade."

She ignored Kayvaan's reaction and pressed on. "Eden 5 is located on the Empire's Eastern Fringe border, an area of little strategic value. The local garrison consists of the Cadian 69th Regiment from the Astra Militarum. The Eastern Fringe Command has already chosen to focus on gathering intelligence rather than deploying major reinforcements. Orders have been given for the local garrison to hold the region as best they can."

"A battle just to gather intelligence?" Kayvaan murmured. "It's an effective method," he admitted reluctantly. "There's no room for lies or misdirection on the battlefield. A real fight exposes the truth about both sides. But still, it'll come at the cost of the Cadian 69th Regiment being wiped out. That's the Guardsman's fate, I suppose. Even Space Marines meet their end on the battlefield; regular soldiers don't stand a chance against this kind of assault. Still…" He hesitated. "Why sacrifice them specifically? Was it because of their number? '69' is a—well, never mind."

Elizabeth's voice cut through his wandering thoughts. "We should receive updated reports by the midpoint of our journey."

"Wait," Kayvaan said, narrowing his eyes. "You said 'we'? What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said," she replied casually. "I came here not just to share information, but to ask you to join our front. I'll be traveling on your ship."

Kayvaan frowned. He had no interest in aligning himself with an Inquisitor—it felt wrong on every level. But articulating that discomfort was another matter. "I… I don't understand. Why me? Why involve me in this?"