Thureos, the Forty-Sixth Terminator
This story is part of the community effort on the Emperor's Nightmare chapter.
"Brother-Captain! We have found something!"
Septerus looked up from the assembly area, watching as the great Phobetor dreadnoughts gathered their subdued charges and herded them onto the waiting shuttles. The battle brother calling to him approached from across the field of battle, where the bodies of traitorous guardsmen covered the ground to the horizon. He held something in his hand, and though still too far for a normal man to make out, none of those who had won victory that day were numbered among normal. The shape in the approaching brother's glove was small, a stone of some sort. Yet though its natural patterns could be clearly seen, there was another pattern superimposed over it. In perfect, orderly rows, the stone was covered with script of some sort. Septerus took the rock from the battle brother to examine it closer, and all at once a shiver of dread ran through him. The words that covered the stone were carved into it, millimeters deep running in perfectly ordered lines across the curving surface of the stone. Without his augmented vision it would have been impossible to decipher. As it was, Septerus could see clearly exactly what was engraved. Over and over again, in a fashion which would be described as "mad" if not for the utter, perfect straightness of the carving, was the single phrase: NO LIGHT BUT THE EMPEROR'S
Thureos.
"You'd better come with me Captain. There's more."
Striding across the wasteland behind the battle brother who guided him, Captain Septerus dwelt on what this discovery meant. For one, it cast a great deal of light on the course of the recent battle. The Emperor's Nightmares knew that the servants of Chaos were weak of courage and faith in their blasphemous gods, so it was expected for their morale to be thin. Yet they had seemed even more disheartened than usual on this day, and their forces weak. It had been as if a portion of their troops had been carved away before the battle began. Now the Captain knew the truth: their chapter's lost hero had visited the enemy. It was little wonder they had no will to fight. Even the veterans of the Nightmares dreaded to face the sleep-maddened Thureos, his precious Terminator armor moving with unimaginable speed and ferocity as he smote what he saw as the enemies of the Emperor.
"It is just beyond this rise captain. Orbital scans revealed a number of caverns in the area, but as the enemy seemed to avoid them they were labeled strategically unimportant. It seems that they had better reason to ignore the area than we knew."
Coming over the hill, Septerus saw at once what the Marine refered to. The natural formation of the hill was steeper on the other side, and a large concave portion of hillside formed a natural ampitheather leading down. Long strides carrying him down the steep scree, the Captain saw that the space extended under the overhang of the hill, hiding it away from orbiting eyes. And then, as his eyes traveled down to the floor of the natural amphitheater, his jaw dropped. The marine who had guided him stayed back as Septerus approached the massive shape on the floor.
"When a squad on a post-battle sweep stopped responding, we feared there may have been traitorous survivors concealed here. But..."
The marine's voice trailed off into dejected silence as the Captain came to the edge of the great shape. Laid out on the floor of the cavern was a great Imperial Aquila, large enough to park a Land Raider on. As he stooped down to replace the carved rock he held at the wingtip of the great eagle, Septerus saw that the entire shape was formed from identical carved pebbles, not a single one sticking above the others to mar the laser-flat surface. Not taking his eyes off the wonderous work, Septerus questioned the marine.
"That cleanup crew you mentioned...?"
"There were no survivors brother-captain. Their remains were found by the recovery team that discovered this place. They... were identified only by their armor, their heads unrecognizable."
Septerus's head bowed at the news. 4 marines dead. Almost half their losses from the day, inflicted without warning by one they would have respected and pitied.
"Assemble search teams, take any land speeders that have not already been recalled. If he can be located, whatever steps necessary must be taken to recover Thureos."
"Yes brother-captain" As the Marine turned to follow his orders, Septerus gazed once again at the masterpiece before him. He must have been here longer than we, hunting the Great Enemy, Septerus thought. Perhaps the arrival of the Nightmare forces convinced him to fall back from what he saw as demonic reinforcements. Thureos would be far gone by now, his inhuman speed and stealth far more than they were equipped for. He would not be apprehended here, and would continue to plague the chapter into the future. Yet as Septerus gazed at the holy symbol filling the space before him, he could think of nothing but the mind that could create such a thing, and of the day that he too might face such an existence.