Fifty Third Volume, Chapter Twenty Two.
In the previous chapter we discussed the genetic malfeasance that was prevalent in the Line Saro's greatest rivals the O'Verlan Clan. The animosity between the two lines was by this time exceedingly warm, with almost constant combat between the lines themselves and their proxies. With the Line of Saro's discovery of the of the unholy taint in the O'Verlan genetic and the seizing of the evidence of this taint the response from their Ancestral enemies was both vigorous and overwhelming.
The Line of Saro was effectively extinguished almost over night by an exceedingly heavy coup de main across all of their holdings almost simultaneously. These strikes were not well planned, but the O'Verlan clan had nothing to lose if the Line Saro continued to hold the evidence of their corrupted nature. The strikes were to try and recapture the pure strain gene-stealer that Line Saro had captured with the intention of presenting it to the Holy Inquisition.
These attacks however missed their target, as the Stasis Vault containing the pure strain Genestealer was transferred to the Seleucaemi Treasurer, an ancient vessel long in the Service of the Line of Saro when word of the attacks began. Many of the lines more portable treasures were also loaded aboard and the last known scion of the line Talis Saro fled from the Segmentum Ultima with the forces of O'Verlan on his tail.
This is where the Treasurers usage as a long haul Bulk carrier however came in handy, as they were able to travel far longer through the warp at any one time than their pursuers. Soon they had travelled clear across the Imperium, finding themselves in the Segmentum Obscurus in the Angaman Sector.
From this point on the historical sources are more well documented, indeed several eyewitness accounts are available such as the memoirs of Colonel Heftefer of the Fourteenth Stain Cavalry, and Litons Muses upon the Machine Gods Workings. As such I will cover the next period in far greater detail.
Upon reaching the Angaman sector Talis Saro determined that they had probably evaded their pursuers to the point that attempting to rebuild the Lines finances would no doubt be in order. The Warrant of Trade confers great power but without the riches to back it up many Rogue Trader Lineages have fallen into disrepair (See my own work 'On the Fall of the House of Farmer' for an example). Although the Treasurers holds were full of riches beyond measure this was all in the form of actual physical items, which as any trader can tell you is a fragile manner in which to perform business. In the Interest of building their local trade rating higher the Trader determined to begin ferrying Pilgrims from Pyraxes to the Shrine World of Hellas.
This was of course not a lucrative trade to be engaged in by a long way. However it shows the shrewdness of the Line of Saro quite clearly. It would both ingratiate them with the Ecclesiarchy, hopefully heading off some of the problems that had previously plagued the Line, and would allow them to safely increase their credit in the region. Sadly fate intervened in the form of a mighty disturbance in the Warp near Celestra which caused them instead to take the usually more risky detour near to the Tempest of Graves.
The Tempest was a standing Warp anomaly in that region not unlike a whirlpool in the fabric of the Empyrean. Phenomenally dangerous, reports from contemporary sources state that the Ghosts of ships destroyed by it could still be seen rotating in it's currents.
With careful planning however it's danger was manageable, which is presumably why Talis Saro chose this route over the uncertain warp of Celestra. They had not however expected that their Primaris Navigator would be slain by an unexpected Explosion of power from the region of that planet, likened to the fire of a second Astronomicon it's immediate result was the death of the Navigator, and an overload in the Warp engines, which in turn caused the Gellar field to flicker off before returning.
This is the greatest fear for most space faring types, and with good reason as it allows the unfettered power of the Warp to pass through the ship, which is indeed what happened to the Seleucaemi Treasurer. Warp entities poured onto the ship but it is the sights and actions of Talis Saro that interest us here.
When the Gellar field failed Talis Saro was on the bridge with his Second in command Macharius Quintus and Enginseer Prime Luna, also present was his Master at Arms Ichigo, the Astropathic choir master Omar and his Navigator Secundus Loka. The Presence of the Navigator was particularly fortuitous given later events, as had he been elsewhere the tale of the Line of Saro could have been extinguished at this point.
After a brief moment of darkness wherein they were assailed by strange visions they found themselves on a horribly transfigured bridge. The Ship-master unconscious along with many of the ratings while one of the ratings nearby had been reconfigured by the power of the warp into an assemblage of Organs and flesh. A shocking sight no doubt and it is to his credit that Talis Saro took a few moments to remind himself of the Crewman’s name and deeds before reacting. Ichigo meanwhile put the unfortunate out of it's misery and began to gather the nearby crew to himself.
Eventually they had gathered some 12 of the Crews arms-men, and leaving half behind to defend the Bridge they proceeded first to the Navigation Pulpit, aiming to bring the Ship once more under control. Having checked the Intercom channels it was obvious to all present that several major incursions by the denizens of the Warp had occurred and this was soon proved to be the case.
The corridor to the the Navigation pulpit was found to be infested with tiny pestilential demons. The members of the command team stepped forward and struck down many of the hideous creatures, their bolters and the storm-bolter of Ichigo exploding the tiny creatures. However as the hordes of daemons stormed forward it became obvious that the Commanders alone could not prevail. The arms-men howeverhad not yet joined the fray and while the commanders joined in hand to hand combat with the foe Talis Saro ordered them into the Fray. Such was the commanding presence of the Line of Saro the men were bolstered and launched themselves at the foe, at first thinning the crowd with their shotguns and then helping to beat the last few demons to death with their weapons butts or boots.
The way was now clear to the Navigation pulpit, they proceeded through the two bulkheads, past combat servitors that had been strangely changed by the touch of the warp, leaving their previously holy forms twisted into strange assemblages of brass, lenses and crystals. The final door however had been damaged but under the touch of the Engineseer Prime Luna it was opened.
One can only imagine the hellish scene that they saw beyond. Sadly none of the eyewitness accounts describe the scene in full, stating only that the Navigator Primaris was dead, and upon the Navigator Secundus taking his place in the pulpit, their situation was found to be dire. The Warp Engines were not operational, and the ship was heeling over directly into the maw of the Tempest of Graves. Realising their peril Talis Saro ordered some of the arms-men to remain to guard the Navigator as he and the others proceeded down the length of the ship to the Enginarium.How much would history have been changed if they had proceeded directly to the Warp Engines?
We will never know however, as fate once more intervened. As they travelled through the ship to the engines, they heard sounds of combat from the hold in which the Pilgrims they were carrying were living. These Pilgrims led by Father Drake (whose life can be read of in Humpteppers The Lives of the Holy) were deep in combat with terrible brass armoured creatures wielding cutlasses of black iron. In the prayers of Drake, they are described as giving off a stench as of spoiled blood, and of brimstone. The Pilgrims had been fighting them since the Gellar field had flickered and were far less in number, with a cordon of the missionaries and flagellants defending the others. They were hard pressed and would surely have died without the intervention of Talis Saro.
They abandoned their head long rush to the warp engines to rescue the pilgrims, forming a gun line in the cargo elevator. Despite the horrific nature of the enemy, only one of the arms-men was overcome with Fear. This was no doubt due to the calming presence of their Lord Talis Saro. He himself paused only a moment to confirm that his crew was fighting at peak efficiency, before adding the fire of his Plasma Pistol to the battle. This Pistol was later to feature heavily in his exploits and this was it's first major engagement. Added to the Storm-bolter of Ichigo, and the Bolters of both the Enginseer Prime and the Priest Macharius Quintus, they began taking a heavy toll on the enemies, aiding the pilgrims in dragging the demons down. However the Choirmasters actions were more telling, forcing one of the warp creatures to attack the others. In my next chapter I will discuss the end of the battle and the aftermath.
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