[Silence answered you. Complete, total silence.]
[You received no response whatsoever from Inquisitor Amara.]
[Your private communication channel terminated abruptly, cut off from her end without warning. The vox-unit crackled with static, then went dead.]
[You closed your dry eyes, feeling the blood vessels and nerves pulsating violently within your silver metallic skull. Each throb sent waves of pressure through your cranium, the sensation both familiar and unpleasant.]
[Several possibilities crystallized in your mind with cold clarity.]
[Amara might not be an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus at all. She could be a safeguard mechanism deliberately planted by higher Inquisitorial authorities, specifically designed to monitor and test your investigative efforts.]
[Alternatively, if she genuinely served the Ordo Malleus, then she was deeply entangled in the labyrinthine factional struggles that constantly plagued the Inquisition's internal politics.]
[You gradually relaxed your furrowed brow, the tension in your forehead muscles easing fractionally. The subsiding headache and dropping blood pressure prompted an unconscious sigh to escape your lips.]
[But something nagged at you, a persistent itch in your thoughts.]
[You felt certain you had forgotten some more critical clue, overlooked a vital possibility in your analysis.]
["Either the Inquisition doesn't believe my investigation report," you muttered to yourself, working through the logic aloud, "and they suspect my ties to the Chapter have grown too close, making me a potential heretic myself."]
[You paused, considering the alternative.]
["Or someone wants to weaponize the fanatics of the Ordo Malleus, forcing an Astartes Chapter into open rebellion under the pretense of eliminating daemonic corruption. Yes, that must be the real plan."]
[You drew a deep breath through your nose, your face settling into an expressionless mask. Decision crystallized into action.]
[You drove your power armor toward a corner of your private quarters, servos whining softly with the movement.]
[You reached for your weapons with practiced efficiency. The flamethrower filled with promethium settled onto your back with comfortable weight. The bolt pistol gifted by Chapter Master Gallus found its place at your hip, the grip fitting your hand like it had been custom-made.]
[Your fully armed appearance immediately attracted attention from the Ogryn squad lounging in the adjacent chamber.]
[Chunkus wiggled his enormous posterior as he approached, the motion comical despite the serious circumstances. He strained to open his mismatched eyes as wide as possible, peering at you with genuine concern.]
["Boss, what's wrong? Have the angels done something bad again? Don't worry, we'll slap them for you!" His voice carried childlike eagerness.]
["Chunkus, get your squad fully armed immediately!" Your tone carried steel authority that cut through any levity. "Our real enemy is coming. This time, we're going to help the angels, not fight them."]
[Chunkus scratched at his bald head with one massive hand, confusion plain on his brutish features. But he didn't question further, simply turning to bellow orders at the other Ogryns to prepare for combat.]
[You located Chapter Master Gallus near the command center, where he was organizing a reconnaissance squad to investigate the hive passages for possible infiltration routes.]
[You recounted everything to him in meticulous detail. Every suspicious action taken by Inquisitor Amara, every inconsistency in her behavior, every violation of proper Inquisitorial protocol.]
[Simultaneously, you revealed the critical intelligence about the Battle Sisters squad from the Order of the Bloody Rose approaching the planet at your previous summons.]
[Chapter Master Gallus appeared completely unsurprised by the news. His weathered face remained calm, as if he'd been expecting exactly this development.]
[He immediately issued orders for all Astartes to prepare for imminent combat. His commands rang through the station with absolute clarity.]
[As the battle-brothers moved with swift eagerness, the entire Chapter station seemed to transform. The atmosphere shifted palpably, awakening from routine maintenance into something sharp and focused. This was what they had trained for, what they existed to do.]
["Inquisitor Steelhead, I deeply regret that you've been dragged into this situation." Chapter Master Gallus's voice remained steady, professional. "I will order my personal guard to escort you safely out of the hive. You can inform the outside world that the Seekers of Truth Chapter detained you, threatened you into producing an investigation report that violated Inquisitorial mandates."]
[The offer was genuine, an escape route extended with sincere concern.]
["Chapter Master Gallus, do I look like the kind of person who fears death?" You allowed cold amusement to color your words. Your metal hand rose to slap against your silver-covered skull, the impact producing a sharp metallic ring. "Since someone wants to use me as their tool, they'll discover they severely underestimated my hard, stubborn metal head."]
[Chapter Master Gallus studied you with penetrating intensity, his narrow eyes searching your face for any hint of doubt or hesitation.]
[Then he smiled. It was a gentle expression you had never witnessed on his scarred features before, transforming his appearance completely.]
["My intuition tells me you are genuinely sincere in helping us, Inquisitor Steelhead. It will be a tremendous honor for the Seekers of Truth Chapter to fight alongside you."]
[He raised his massive gauntleted hand and brought it down heavily on your shoulder armor. The impact would have staggered an unaugmented human, but your power armor's servos absorbed the force.]
[You blinked your dry eyes, a faint smile touching your lips despite everything.]
[During the third month, an Astartes reconnaissance squad used their power armor's capabilities and exceptional physical stamina to scale the disabled transport elevator shaft. Hand over hand, they climbed toward the upper hive levels.]
[They reached the Planetary Defense Force positions that had sealed off access.]
[As bolter fire erupted, the distinctive roar of mass-reactive rounds echoing through confined spaces, the confrontation proved remarkably brief.]
[This local defense force garrison, which had been following Inquisitor Amara's orders, immediately surrendered to the Seekers of Truth Chapter. Whatever compulsion or coercion had driven them collapsed in the face of actual Astartes.]
[Once you and Chapter Master Gallus arrived at the upper nest via the now-secured transport elevator, the situation became clear.]
[The reconnaissance team of merely twenty battle-brothers had achieved complete tactical control with minimal casualties.]
[One by one, the planetary defense forces resumed their proper duties, manning defensive positions throughout the hive according to your direct orders.]
[However, a cascade of terrible news arrived in rapid succession.]
[The innocent planetary governor had been murdered, assassinated with deliberate brutality. Despite extensive searches conducted by loyal hive citizens, Inquisitor Amara herself had vanished completely, leaving no trace.]
[Simultaneously, the captain of the Cobra-class destroyer had been forced to obey orders from another Inquisitor, someone with authority superseding your own. The vessel departed planetary orbit, taking with it your only off-world transportation.]
[That same mysterious Inquisitor had also contacted the Battle Sisters en route, informing them of supposed heretical events occurring on the industrial planet.]
[The implications struck you like physical blows.]
[The Seekers of Truth Chapter and you, an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus, had completely lost any opportunity to explain the actual sequence of events. Your voices had been systematically silenced.]
[Armed conflict with the arriving Battle Sisters squad had become unavoidable.]
[Chapter Master Gallus seemed to have anticipated precisely this outcome.]
[He immediately ordered the Astartes at the Chapter station to deploy for urban combat, utilizing the entire hive city as their battlefield. They moved with practiced efficiency, each battle-brother knowing exactly where to position themselves.]
[The Seekers of Truth' Exorcist-class cruiser, escorted by several Sword-class frigates, gradually moved away from the industrial planet. The small fleet adopted anonymous transponder codes, disguising themselves as unfamiliar merchant vessels from another system.]
[According to Chapter Master Gallus's contingency planning, this represented one of several evacuation backup plans for the Seekers of Truth Chapter should total withdrawal become necessary.]
[Meanwhile, rows of ancient Leman Russ battle tanks rumbled out from long-dormant armories. The Planetary Defense Forces, acting under direct orders from Chapter Master Gallus, positioned the armored vehicles near the primary hive entrance, creating layered defensive positions.]
[You led your Ogryn squad and the nine Astartes assigned as your personal guard away from the main entrance chokepoint.]
[You observed silently as swift-moving battle-brothers carrying heavy weapons disappeared into pre-arranged ambush positions throughout the hive structure. They moved like ghosts despite their bulk, utilizing every shadow and concealed firing angle.]
[You noticed something in their movements, in their expressions. The eager anticipation radiating from the Astartes guards as battle approached felt wrong somehow.]
[A vague sense of wrongness settled over you like a cold blanket.]
[You recognized that current developments had spiraled beyond your control, events moving according to momentum you could no longer redirect.]
[You mentally reviewed the entire incident from beginning to end, analyzing each decision point, each revelation. But you couldn't identify anything specifically wrong with your choices.]
[A relentless series of unexpected complications had forced you into complete confrontation with the Battle Sisters squad you had personally summoned.]
[Time crawled forward with agonizing slowness. Both the Seekers of Truth Chapter and the Planetary Defense Forces completed their preparations, settling into tense readiness for imminent combat.]
[Then, when landing craft and Thunderhawk gunships descended through the dry night sky like falling petals, their engine flames cutting orange trails through darkness as they approached the hive city, something shifted in your mind.]
[A tiny doubt sprouted from the deepest recesses of your thoughts, growing with terrifying speed until it dominated your consciousness entirely.]
[Your grip tightened gradually on the flamethrower's heavy handle, metal creaking under the pressure.]
["Why am I so absolutely convinced that the Seekers of Truth Chapter is not heretical?" The question emerged as barely a whisper, spoken to yourself alone. "Is my certainty based on objective evidence I've witnessed? Or is it because I developed a preconceived notion?"]
[Your breathing accelerated, heart rate climbing.]
["The Astartes treat the hive city population with genuine care. They've defied the Inquisition multiple times to protect innocent civilian lives. Therefore, I concluded they could never become entangled with Chaos corruption. But is that actually logical?"]
[Cold sweat broke out across your skin despite the climate control.]
["So were the Chaos ritual sites at the Chapter base, all those daemonic traces, truly planted evidence by the daemon-hunting Inquisitor Amara? Or did I, because of my biased treatment favoring the Astartes and my deliberate suspicion toward the Inquisition, subconsciously overlook and dismiss critical information?"]
[The questions multiplied, each one more damning than the last.]
["Why does Chapter Master Gallus seem so thoroughly prepared to fight Imperial forces? Even accepting some losses, shouldn't his priority be contacting the Battle Sisters directly, attempting to prove the Chapter's loyalty? With Battle Sisters vouching for them, even the Inquisition would show leniency. And why do most of the Astartes appear so eager for this battle?"]
[Your voice rose despite yourself, the words forcing themselves out.]
["Emperor above! I cannot guarantee there aren't massive misunderstandings or deliberate misinterpretations woven throughout this entire situation!"]
[Your hands trembled slightly, adrenaline flooding your system.]
["But this entire sequence of events, every development filled with suspicious coincidences and contradictions, why didn't I notice the pattern sooner?!"]
[The realization crashed over you with the force of revelation, terrible and undeniable.]
["May the Emperor protect us all! This approaching war, this entire orchestrated crisis, is almost certainly a conspiracy engineered by the Daemon Prince Tzeentch!"]