Warhammer World Birthday Battle: The Hunt for Cawl

The Hunt for Cawl

Guilliman strode out of the inner sanctum of Macragge’s Honour with purposeful intent.  His suspicions were now beyond reasonable doubt.  The odds that his interactions with the Cawl Inferior device were anything other than direct communion with the Archmagos himself were now next to none.  It did not matter either way.  It was clear that Archmagos Belisarius Cawl was operating to his own agenda.  This simply would not do.  The Lord Commander and Imperial Regent required all resources at his disposal to be aligned to the primary objective.  Any deviation from this would mean failure.  Of course Guilliman had huge respect for Cawl’s abilities, and his dedication to the ten millennia of innovative toil that led to the Primarch’s own resurrection and the strengthening of the Imperium’s war machine.  He was truly grateful.  Indeed it was for these reasons that he had allowed Cawl more than one opportunity to respond to his demands to stand before him and renew his allegiance to the Imperial cause.  Well no more.  No-one was beyond Roboute Guilliman’s rule, and defiance must be punished.  Cawl must be brought to heel.

***

+++Data-link terminated+++

+++Transmission ended+++

+++Primary system function 73%+++

+++Resuming diagnostic+++

“Enough of these worthless distractions.  I have work to do”

***

Katarinya Greyfax stood before the giant doors to Guilliman’s reclusiam with a familiar sense of awe.  She had been summoned in this way several times before.  Each time they had met since his awakening, he had trusted her with a task of crucial importance.  Each time the task got more challenging, but each time she delivered.  Despite her obvious favour with Guilliman, these meetings never became commonplace, never familiar.  With a deep breath she stole the courage to see what lay in store for her next.

She pushed on the giant doors and they swung open.  A broad, warm grin greeted her from across the room.

“Inquisitor, good to see you again.  Come on in.  I have a job for you.”

***

+++System purge complete+++

+++Uploading tertiary controls+++

+++Experimental power network #2231 online+++

+++Initiate diagnostic+++

+++Diagnostic complete+++

+++Primary system function 127%+++

***

The great doors swung shut behind her as Greyfax emerged from Guilliman’s chambers and stepped back into the expanse of the flagship’s main corridor.  She instinctively reached up to touch the back of her neck.  The scar left by Cawl’s removal of the Necron mindshackle scarab persisted, and she was once again reminded of the helpless feeling of being a puppet of that xenos abomination.  The deftness with which Cawl had removed the device, and the fact that she had not witnessed what became of it subsequently, troubled her slightly.  However, freedom had taken on a new meaning since the episode on Cadia.  In years past she would not have described her existence as ‘free’.  Few in the Imperial Ordos would.  But in comparison to the insufferable experience of seeing yourself, from behind your own eyes, carrying out actions over which you have no control, her life of service seemed like the ultimate expression of free will.  She owed a debt of gratitude to Cawl for that.  Of course Guilliman knew this, and his selection of her for this mission was no coincidence.  The Imperial Regent wanted Cawl to know that the Imperium contained no friends for anyone who chose not to follow his rule.  Therefore her next mission was not one that she accepted lightly.  But accept she did, and there was never any doubt of that.  Service came first, and Guilliman’s orders were absolute.  This was not a task she relished.  But she also knew that the mission was a test.  Bringing Cawl in would ostensibly be a test of her strategic abilities, leadership, and tactical agility, but predominantly this was an opportunity to demonstrate to Guilliman her unconditional and unwavering loyalty to the Imperium.  She would not fail.

‘Bring Cawl to me.  Take whatever resources you need’ was the only mandate from the Primarch.  He had offered access to a contingent from the Custodian Guard to ensure that there could be no misunderstanding as to the authority that the mission carried.  Greyfax concurred with the wisdom in that, and her first action would be to secure the support of any available Custodes forces.  Knowing the scale of the entourage of Adeptus Mechanicus military forces that travelled with Cawl, she knew that a lot more firepower would be required if the Archmagos chose not to come quietly.  This aspect would require some thought, but she had the beginnings of an idea…

***

Archmagos Belisarius Cawl cackled with binaric glee.  The soft green glow emanating from his power system symbolised newfound capabilities, and his primary functions were finally stable.

“Phase 1 complete.  We are ready to commence recovery of the Object.  Let us begin.”

***

Vulkan He’stan’s eyes shone with renewed vigour.  The message received via his Astropath Transcendent was quite clear, and the encryption level verified the authority with which it was sent.  The Inquisition had a lead on the possible whereabouts of one of the four remaining artefacts of Vulkan.  They believed it was in, or very near to being in, the possession of a rogue Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus.  The Forgefather of the Salamanders knew Belisarius Cawl by name and reputation only.  The perpetual state of exile demanded of him by his search for the artefacts meant that he had little opportunity to mix with the brothers of his own Chapter, let alone those of the wider Imperium.  He would leave no stone unturned in the search for the artefacts and if one of those stones was Cawl then so be it.  If to overturn him meant to beat him to within an inch of destruction then it was of no consequence.  It would be done.  And if the artefact was recovered in the completion of that mission, then it would have been justly earned.

He did not allow his expectations to rise to his ambitions.  He had been led down a false path before by those seeking to use his unique motivations for their own purposes. However, as this was the only tangible lead he had received in several years, follow it he must.  In any case, the opportunity to sharpen his battle instincts and once again experience the thrill of a fight was a welcome one.  Searching the outer fringes of the galaxy, with only a small entourage for company, presented the risk of complacency and the softening of his skills.  He was born a warrior and a warrior he would always be.  Vulkan He’stan would assemble his forces.  The Forgefather of the Salamanders would once again march to war.

***

+++Astropathic intercept verified+++

+++Processing+++

+++Decryption complete+++

“Too easy.  They think themselves so smart.  A servitor could devise a more secure system.  Let them come.  I won’t be deterred from my work.  They don’t see the big picture and they wouldn’t understand it if they could.  If they come I will be ready.  I still possess the xenos toy which I know the Inquisitor enjoyed so much.  My modifications require testing.  She would make a perfect subject.”

***