The Underhive

This story is part of the community effort on the Emperor's Nightmare chapter. (by SC Guy)

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They were rioting again.

The underhive scum had always been aggressive, such you would expect in any Hive World within the Imperium's staggering reach. Orphans and gangers, not content with the place the Emperor had given them, rose up like a howling wave of malcontents and nihilists against the society which kept them pinned at the bottom physically and socially. Usually the local Adeptus Arbites was content to let them ruin themselves in the Underhive, or let a PDF-led crackdown disperse the crowds. But when these riots threatened to spill over into the Middle Hive, where they threatened to slow down productivity and threaten the planet's Tithe, that is when the Arbitrators stepped in.

"YOU DID THIS TO U-" The ganger's jaw gave way as Arbitrator Kendell's shock maul cracked into it, sending the rioter to the ground with a wail. Stepping over his squirming form, Kendell stepped back towards his fellows. The Arbites crackdown had been merciless, a carpet of comatose and worse scum flowed from their checkpoint. Still more came, growling obscenities and brandishing various weapons. The ruby beam of a las bolt spat out from the crowd, burning a small hole in the suppression shield of the man to Kendall's left before the offending underhiver's head burst. Evidently the snipers were doing the job well.

With screams the rioters hit the shield line, trying desperately to overwhelm the Arbitrators through sheer force of numbers. Kendall grunted as he strained to hold back a hairless brute brandishing an iron bar, trying not to inhale their stench too deeply. The line buckled...and buckled...And stopped. There was a silence for a few seconds, and then the Arbitrators pushed forward, Shock mauls lashing out. So the screams began anew.

Even amidst the violence, Kendall heard gasps from behind the checkpoint, and during a lull in the fight, when the bloodied rioters withdrew to gather their wits, he glanced back. What he saw took his breath away. A veritable giant, clad in the distinctive purple and gold of the Hive's royalty. His skull-faced mask swept over the battle, his massive armored arms folded across his chest.

"-aplain Vard of the Emperor's Nightmare. I hope you understand our trials are due to begin within hours, and if the Arbites cannot quell this unrest soon, we shall be forced to take action...personally." That sent a chill down Kendall's spine as he returned his full attention to the battle. The vaunted Angels who watched over this world would be an impressive sight to be sure...One he wasn't sure he ever wanted to see.

"Change of plan, men." The Proctor's voice hissed through his helmet's micro bead. "We're going into the Underhive, anyone who resists gets put down. Let's get to it."

"Stay in contact, we don't want them sneaking past us."

Even before arriving on Icelus Kendall was acutely aware of the dank, decaying features of the Imperium's underhives, but these barren cesspits of anarchy and violence never ceased to depress him. The Arbitrators had been forced to split up, the twisting passages of the labyrinthine structure mocking any attempt at order. Fighting the rioting underhivers in a defensible checkpoint was all very well, but this was their home. Kendall and the four Arbitrators accompanying him had been ambushed six times already, gangers and mutants striking out of murderholes and setting up crude killing fields with rusty las weaponry held together with tape and hope. Each attempt had been foiled, each attacker brained by shock mauls until they stopped breathing. This was a hellish way to fight, but the order had been given...And Kendall prided himself on following orders.

"Here we go again." One of his accomplices stated, edging forward along the corridor. The passage opened up into a truly cavernous room, lit only by a single stuttering floodlight centred upon an impromptu stage upon which a tall, lanky man was pacing, clutching a rusty flamer. In the darkness it took Kendall a few moments to realize the other occupants of the room should scare him a lot more. A vast crowd of degenerates, mutants and other assorted scum, crammed into the room like the angry mob of daemons. Kendall had never been very good at judging, but it looked as though there were hundreds of them.

"-ping you down, making your lives a living hell, simply because you do not subscribe to their vision of the perfect man!" The man on the stage was well-spoken, with a genuine fire in his voice. The mob was hanging onto his every word, a rapt silence accompanying his impassioned oratory. The man himself didn't look much like an Underhiver, his clothing far too fine for a life in the hellish depths of Icelus' cities. Upon his long jacket he wore a strange insignia, that of a three-headed serpent, most likely the badge of his personal gang. At that moment he stopped dead, gripping his weapon and backing away a little. It took Kendall a few seconds to realise the preacher was looking straight at him.

"THERE! THE LACKEYS OF YOUR OPPRESSORS HAVE COME TO PUT YOU DOWN! KILL THEM ALL!" He screamed, and Kendall felt dread trickling through him as, as one, the crowd turned to face them.

"...RUN!"

"What!? How many!?!" Kendall's lungs were on fire as him and his fellows ran for their lives, leaping and dodging through the passageways which only hours prior they had been carefully picking through. Behind him, the horde of Underhivers were keeping pace with terrifying ease. Their screams, bellows of rage and mocking jeers echoed through the corridors, making it hard even to think.

"I-it looked like hundreds, sir!" The Arbitrator wheezed, urging his strained body forward once more. Already two of his group had fallen, their bodies unable to carry them further. Kendall didn't even want to think about their fate.

"The task force is already dispersed throughout the hive, you'll just have t-" There was a rush of breath and the sound of movement in his micro-bead, then an entirely new voice filled his helmet.

"Arbitrator Kendall, this is Sergeant Kharus of the Emperor's Nightmares. You have one way of surviving this, and that is to do exactly what I say. Do you understand?" Even in these dire straights, the thought of being addressed by a Space Marine sent a thrill down Kendall's spine.

"Y-yes, My Lord." He breathed, bolting up a flight of stairs with a sharp pant. He had dropped his suppression shield a while back, the thing was far too cumbersome for a chase like this.

"You will soon reach a fork in the path, the way you came in. To the right lies your checkpoint. You have to take the left passage." This made Kendall gasp, and he could tell the other Arbitrators were similarly shocked.

"B-back into the hive!? But we can't get out th-"

"I just told you that your only way to survive this was to follow my instructions. If what you're saying is correct and you take the right path and unleash many enemies into the Middle Hive, I'll kill you myself. Now take the left!" Just as Kharus had said, the fork was just ahead. To the left, the light of the Middle Hive blossomed out, promising hope and comfort.

"...Very well, My Lord." Taking a resigned breath, Kendall and his arbitrators took the left corridor, once again plunging into the darkness of the Underhive.

"The Emperor Protects, Arbitrator. Have some faith."

The tunnels leading down to what used to be the main blocks of the Underhive were even more poorly maintained than what Kendall had already witnessed, what used to be finely wrought pillars and statues depicting Imperial saints strewn amongst the sordid rubble littering this forsaken place. Kendall's vision was going grey, his body screaming against this hellish race towards certain doom. Behind him the horde of degenerates and outcasts had fallen behind ever so slightly, doubtless some of the more lucid individuals choosing to ascend into the Middle Hive to their deaths. The great majority, spurred onwards by dark passion and blood thirst, had pursued the Arbitrators back into the Underhive. When they had taken the left turn a hungry cheer had gone up amongst the Underhive Scum, who no-doubt thought they had taken the wrong turn in their panic.

"Keep going, you have nearly reached your salvation." The calm voice of Sergeant Kharus intoned over the Micro-bead. Admittedly Kendall was finding it hard to believe this, as he and his men, who were growing more beaten by the second, plunged back into their enemy's home.

"M-my Lord, we can't go on much longer! Our bodies-"

"If your bodies are failing then shield them with your faith. What you are doing now is of the utmost importance, failure now will mean far more than simply the loss of your lives. Now press on!" Chastened, Kendell focused his entire being into the torturous sprint further into the hive. He couldn't feel a thing, he couldn't think straight, and as he burst into a large enclosure similar to the one he had found these accursed traitors in, he could have sworn his exhaustion had claimed his hearing too.

"..." Staggering down a large, dilapidated flight of stairs, Kendall made to run further but a raised step he didn't see collided against his boot. Knocked sprawling into the middle of the room, Kendall despaired. Forcing himself up, he unclipped his shock maul from his belt and turned. The mob had yet to break into the enclosure yet, but one thing he knew was that he could go no further.

"On me, men. We'll die here like true servants of the Emperor." He commanded...Or, that is what he meant to say, but no words came out whatsoever. In fact, an eerie silence saturated the entire room, causing even Kendall's exhausted mind to pick up a little.

"..." The rabble had entered the enclosure, and Kendall prepared to sell his life as dearly as possible. By his side the two remaining Arbitrators formed up beside him, shock mauls crackling mutely to life. The mob vomited forth silently, each one glaring at the three Arbitrators with a terrifying bloodgreed which almost caused Kendall to take a step back. Almost. Descending the stairs, they paused for a moment at the sight of the moving statues....Moving statues?

"-MORSE, NO RETREAT!" In an instant the room was alive with movement. Kendall's jaw dropped as, seemingly from nowhere, dark-armoured giants rose and strode forth, their rifles roaring as they spat explosive death into the rebels.

"Excellently done, Arbitrators. Now, are you ready to visit your revenge upon these degenerates?" This time Kharus' voice came not from the micro-bead, but to Kendall's right. The space marine wore power armour of the darkest purple, just like the others, and in his hands a gleaming Power Sword and a large pistol were grasped. Recovering his wits, Kendall nodded sternly to the giant who stood beside him.

"I am ready when you are, My Lord." This caused Kharus to grin and nod, turning his attention to the horde of maniacs before them. Breaking into a run, the Arbitrators by his side, the Sergeant roared a great wordless cry of defiance. Taking up this cry, his shock maul clasped in two hands, Kendall went to meet his tormentors.

"FOR THE EMPEROR AND FOR ICELUS!"