I realized "Pandora" is way overused so I changed the name of the planet for part II.


A lone figure walked quickly through a narrow passage. Broken wires hung from above and long-rusted pipes leaked foul-smelling fluids into small puddles on the ground. Stepping around these, the figure glanced over his shoulder occasionally as he scurried along. Reaching a particular spot he hesitated before leaning against a small, almost-invisible metal door in a side-wall. The figure disappeared inside.

Edouard Rainden carefully closed the door behind him before walking slowly down an even narrower passageway. The tiny corridor was bathed in a dim, otherworldy, blue light. The passage dead-ended in a small room. The far end of the room was dominated by a massive dark figure that could barely be made out in the dim light. Rainden stopped, his heart suddenly fluttering. He swallowed, shook his head slightly, and stepped into the room.

“Fallen Eagle” he said, giving the code phrase his contact had provided.

“Welcome” hissed a cold voice. The word seemed anything but welcoming as it had a slight echo and a touch of an electronic distortion that made it sound more ominous than anything. Perhaps the speaker was using a microphonic inhancer or had a throat implant of some kind. “You got our payment.”

This was a statement, not a question.

“Yes, yes I did.” was Rainden’s anxious response.

“Tell me a tale.” echoed the room.

“Of course, of course.” said the more recent arrival. Rainden’s eyes were becoming used to the light and this actually increased his anxiety as he could now see the massive figure more clearly. It was clad in power armor from head to foot with a massive helm topped by spikes and other decorations. The eyes glowed faintly and its body was swathed in a large cape decorated with an odd symbol. This symbol was made of a sphere connected by a thin rod to a slightly smaller, rounded crescent. The smaller crescent was set above and to the right of the sphere while the rod was bisected with what appeared to be a second, thinner crescent arcing back towards the sphere. Rainden did not know the symbol’s exact meaning, but he recognized it as something the tyrannical leaders of the hated Imperium would call ‘blasphemous.’

It was his hatred of the Imperium that led this intelligence contractor to reach out to a local resistance movement he learned of. The Imperium was doing bad things, and Rainden was the one to alert the Galaxy. He would be spoken of as a hero across countless systems once the Truth was revealed. He had been welcomed by the resistance fighters, was paid well for the intelligence he shared, and had finally gained access to the man in power armor before him. This presumably was the resistance movement’s local leader. Rainden began to share his latest and most important discovery:

“Recently one of the Imperium’s evil black ships, the “Divine Blade” was lost in the immaterium while transversing the Perillion Outliers. Apparently the ship stopped responding to hails outside of a large warpstorm called ‘the Buzzsaw.’ Since then the Buzzsaw has begun acting oddly. A distinct opening or path has appeared in the storm.”

“Good.” nodded the giant in power armor.

Rainden found that remark somewhat odd and unsettling. Did the resistance leader already know about this? “Well, here is the really interesting part. The pathway lies upon a direct line between the last know location of the “Divine Blade” and the heart of the Buzzsaw.”

“And do you know what lies at the heart of the Buzzsaw?” inquired the mysterious figure. The question sounded less like a request for information, and more like an interrogation.

“As a matter of fact, I do. I checked the old starcharts and found that a colonized planet called ‘Pendana IV’ is fixed at the exact center. It has not been in contact with the Imperium for around 700 years, ever since the Buzzsaw first formed. Now, the “Divine Blade,” or its wreckage, has somehow opened a path to Pendana IV. Perhaps the black ship is drifting towards the planet. Either way the passage is large enough for plenty of other ships to get through. ”

“Exactly!” said the figure in power armor. His voice now sounded less ominous. Almost happy. “Thank you my dear, Edouard. You are our second source to confirm this information. We certainly were not about to mount an expedition without confirmation now, were we?”

“The resistance is going to Pendana IV? Why? Is it safe to share this information? What if the Inquisition captures me?”

“Oh, that’s not going to be a problem anymore.” said the figure in an upbeat, playful voice. “In fact, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Mazriel, follower of the Dark Prince. Since we don’t need any more of the secrets you’ve been selling us, I want to thank you. Thank you for the intelligence, and thank for the joy you are about to bring me personally. Lord Mazriel wants you to open your mind to the Dark Prince. He and I will bless you with feelings so intense…you’ve never felt anything like this!”

Suddenly an armored fist shot out from the giant’s robes and grabbed Rainden by the head. The fist began to squeeze around the top of his skull.

“Owwwww!!! Let go!!” Rainden squealed.

“Open your mind! Let the Dark Prince revel in your agony! Feel the pleasure of your pain! Feel it! Love your pain!” With that, the armored fist closed suddenly and a wet, sploshing sound accompanied by the noise of snapping bone echoed around the room.

“Ahhhhhhh….” sighed the giant.

Shaking thick liquid and soft matter from his hand the Slaneesh Sorcerer spoke into a transmitter fitted into his helmet. “This is Lord Mazriel. We have confirmation. The road to Pendana IV is open.”