A New Assignment. For three standard weeks, the Lord Captain’s agents pursued their own endeavors among the stars. Five days before the flagship’s grand celebration, they were summoned to a confidential briefing with Alyssa Wyld. A new mission awaited.
“In the wastelands of Voll, a cult of personality has risen around a man calling himself Markis Sihn. Reports claim he wields a form of profane healing sorcery, and the devotion he has gathered is deeply troubling. Recently, his followers acquired a monstrously large, flawless gemstone — a relic from the deep strata of Voll. They call it the Eye of Voll.”
Large gems are not uncommon on Voll; some are harvested from the acidic crusts of the planet’s chemical seas. Yet this particular stone is vast and pure enough to be forged into a defense crystal — even a voidship weapon component. In the wrong hands, it could fund rebellion or worse.
The Lord Captain authorized 2,000 Solars for bribes and expenses, and made the objectives clear: eliminate the renegade psyker Markis Sihn, and secure the Eye of Voll. Alyssa Wyld arranged a suborbital transport to Aserion Outpost, an Imperial installation in the Gamma-74 region. There, the agents were to meet Administratum Subprefect Rastigan Dorin, who would brief them on local conditions and provide transport and a guide.
The flight to Aserion Outpost would depart from Hive Rokarth, on the mid-levels of the Void Buttress, platform LH-43. The zone served a fleet of light haulers and transport craft ferrying workers and cargo between the hive and Voll’s industrial outposts. The agents arrived three hours early, allowing time to observe and gather intelligence. The concourses and embarkation decks swarmed with merchants hawking equipment — useful wares for those bound for the wastes. But the area was under watch by Imperial Fleet Armsmen; open display of heavy weaponry was strictly forbidden.
Through careful listening — and a few well-placed coins — the agents gathered troubling rumors. Markis Sihn was said to be a savior to the people, healing those afflicted by chemical sickness for little or no cost. Others whispered that Sihn was no man at all, but a xenos — perhaps even an Aeldari Wych — sent to tempt the faithless. Many laborers of Gamma-74 had grown weary of servitude and decay, and Sihn had shown them “another way.” One manufactorum, 74-C15, had been shut down entirely. Some claimed worker rebellion; others spoke of Ork raiders.
While moving among the platforms, the agents noticed black-robed figures of the Adeptus Ministorum, heavily armed and carrying ornate flamers — Venykar’s Sanctifiers. Their presence was not subtle. Moments later, a massive, tattooed Ogryn stepped into their path, a heavy flamer resting across his shoulder.
“Caul wants a word with you,” he grunted, pointing toward a nearby cargo bay.
Inside, the group met Caul — a stern figure whose rapport with the charming and composed Alicia was immediately apparent. He wasted no words: Markis Sihn was a blasphemer, an abomination that must be purged. His only question was simple:
“Will you stand in our way?”
The agents assured him their goals aligned. Satisfied, Caul dismissed them with a nod and a warning:
“Then see that you keep the Emperor’s fire burning bright.”
The call to embark echoed through the deck’s loud-haulers:
“Attention, personnel of flight LH-43 — suborbital Arvus Lighter preparing for launch to Gamma-74. All hands report.”
Engines ignited. The agents gathered their gear and boarded the transport. Ahead lay the barren expanse of Voll’s industrial wastes — and the trail of Markis Sihn, the healer, the heretic, or something far worse.
XP earned:
40 XP => Marc, Jochen, Peter, Karsten
20 XP => Christian (not present)
