# Descent Into Hell



## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

I haven't wrote in a while, so please dont be to harsh, but all comments are more than welcome:victory: The Inquisitor and her Retinue can be viewed here- http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56088

The transport came in low over the desert, engines howling like some form of banshee as they were pushed to their limit. Fat and long, the transport flew through a dune literally destroying it in a storm of sand and small rock. Several miles in the distance, a large spire shaped like that of a crooked finger rose from the boiling sand, belching thick black smoke and deafening noise. A bulbous hanger clung to its side, yet the bright lights that usually illuminated it were now off, shrouding the entire hanger in darkness. 

The ship pushed its way inwards, large beam lights searching the darkness for any signs of life. It came to a halt in the centre, slowly descending to the metal floor with a resounding clang. A rear hatch slid upwards, and a pair of figures dropped out with Las-Rifles shouldered. Both were tall and slim, with broad shoulders and high cheekbones, short black hair and large brown eyes. 

They moved out, each taking their steps in unison until they stood eight metres from the hatch, weapons trained upon shadows as natural light beamed in from the sun above. A third figure followed from the bulkhead, a crackling blue Plasma Gun held in his gloved hands as he ran forwards, taking up a position between the first pair, facing the hanger entrance. 

Eight more men, clad in black and red uniforms followed with Las-Rifles, spreading out around the transport at five metre intervals. The Plasma-Gunner held his weapon one handed, the other going up to his helm and Vox transmitter. He talked into it saying “Lady-Inquisitor, it is safe for you to come out now”. 

With that, a glorious figure pulled from where they had came from just moments ago. Tall and lithe, with a mane of black hair falling from her head, her body encased within a gleaming set of Power Armour. Finally detailed, with envisions of legends past upon it, the armour was a dull black colour with gold markings, a red cloak falling from her shoulders. At her side, hung a Power-Sabre and Bolt Pistol, both as masterfully crafted as the armour. 

She approached the original three and said, with enough force and demand to make every head in the hanger turn “Antonius, Thal, Kyleis any contact from the Mine-Master?” The Plasma-Gunner looked around and shook his head, one finger trying to pick up any signals from the mines beneath the sea of sand five miles below them. 

The desert world, known simply as Hell by those who lived and worked there, had sent a emergency transmission a week before however soon after all contact was lost and Inquisitor Kalmia led her Retinue and a Company of Guardsmen to investigate. Yet when they arrived, they found the Ore Transports that usually dotted the surface gone, something that had made the Lady-Inquisitor gulp. 

She tapped the Plasma-Gunner on the shoulder with one golden finger and whispered “Antonius…Unload Zadac and tell Andrik to kill the engines, he isn’t going anywhere”. The Plasma-Gunner, or Antonius as he had been referred to got up and ran back into the shuttle, five minutes later the engines died, the blue light that had been cast upon the pair of Guardsmen closest distinguishing like a burning ember. 

Antonius returned shortly after, walking from the door with his Plasma Gun slung over his back, powered down, in both hands was a barbed chain with a small leather handle. He tugged it, and the reluctant receiver was pulled out. Short and hunchbacked, with a bald head and wide eyes, crooked hands curled around a tall wooden staff tipped with a winged skull, Zadac was the Psyker-Pet of Lady-Inquisitor Liana Kalmia gibbered to himself as he half walked, and was half dragged towards her. 

He came to a halt before Kalmia, falling to his knees with enough force to rip the skin he stared up at her with genuinely sad eyes. She stared back and said “I am truly sorry Zadac that you have to be treated this way, however until I find out whatever happened here, you are potentially a risk to yourself and the Retinue”. 

The Psyker nibbled on his lower lip, drawing a small trickle of blood and replied “I understand Lady-Inquisitor, yet thus far I have not found a single trace of Traitorous or Xeno-Biological Psyker’s present, I do not however, enjoy being led around by young Antonius” he looked at him and lifted the corners of his mouth, revealing grime covered teeth and a long tongue. 

Antonius yanked tightly, the sharp points within the collar biting into the throat of Zadac who screeched in agony as he was pulled onto his back, clawing at the cold metal with his withered fingers. A booming voice sounded “Enough!” and the Guardsmen stepped back, unintentionally dragging the writhing Psyker with him. 

Standing tall, Liana glared at Antonius who could only cower in fear, her eyes scanning him head to toe while her lips curled in disgust. Antonius dropped the chain to the floor with a clatter and stepped away, palms of his hands raised at her. Without turning she inclined her head and muttered “Kyleis, you shall handle Zadac as Antonius is ill trained to do so, hurry we enter the facility by the end of the time segment”. 

The man on the left, threw his Las-Rifle over his shoulder on a thin strap and ran over, gripping the chain on the ground with one hand, he offered his hand to Zadac with the other who took it while moaning, his weight being lifted with a heave by the Twin. When he was back on his feet, blood seeping from beneath his collar, Liana gave the order to move into the mining station. 

++++++++

Antonius led the way, with his Plasma Gun held in the front of his elbow, the warmth being emitted causing him to sweat as he descended a set of spiral stairs with caution, looking over the banister into the shrouding darkness below, he was tempted to fire his weapon to illuminate anything that dared cower in the shadows, yet knew that would definitely lead to Liana cutting his throat and purposefully healing him so she could do so again. 

A wiry Guardsmen was at his side and had introduced himself as Nathanial while he had taken point with the four barrelled Shotgun that was pulled tightly into his shoulder, finger wrapped tightly around the pistol as his shoulder mounted beam torch pierced the enveloping dark. There was the familiar tip tap of a drip in the background, where it was they did not know but it was evident that they could not seem to outrun the noise, instead it continued to echo annoyingly in the background. 

Zadac could be heard talking to himself on the level above, his shadow cast across the metal grated staircase. There was no sign of the miners, nor was there any power in the spire and thus it was left to the heavy arm of the force, a burly Guardsmen by the name of Tolan, to sheer the doors apart with his thick hands. He was definitely a useful asset, with his Flamer and large size assuring if anything came into close quarters he would be able to beat whatever was foolish enough to get that close. 

They descended further and further, until sweat beaded their foreheads and dark patches had grown beneath their armpits, one or two of the Guardsmen had unclipped their protective vests and hanged helmets at their hips, the heat within the spire being that unbearable. Someone made a joke of how the miners probably evaporated, but was soon shut up by a strong backhand from a fellow, who was in no mood for joking. 

As they descended however, the heat began to die away as a cool draft howled upwards, the Retinue and their Guard escorts relished in this, taken several minutes of rest upon the stairs, yet after the short time Liana ordered them onwards and the descent began again. Soon access tunnels began to sprout either side of them and the stairs gave way into a ramp, on the left a small track used to bring ore and rocks upwards, on the right was the actual ramp. 

++++++++

They had fallen silent when Antonius and Nathanial had set foot upon the ramp. Even Zadac; who had been rambling for the last several hours simply closed his mouth and continued to be led by Kyleis. The Lady-Inquisitor walked in the centre, with her left hand never leaving the grip of her Bolt Pistol as she stared into the dark side halls and caverns, awaiting someone to pop out at them and cause her heart to stop. 

The silence was broken when Zadac fell to his knees, clasping his temples hard enough that his long nails drew blood from the skin and let out a psychic scream which sent the Inquisitorial Team to their knees in agony, with all bar Liana herself writhing on the ground. The Lady-Inquisitor flew towards him, gripping the Psyker by his fatigues and threw him into the closest wall, ending the scream. 

Blood dripped from his nostrils, splattering across the grey floor beneath him and he gritted his teeth, spinning his head around to Liana he howled “Its here! Hell is here!” as he finished the statement a orange and yellow blur ripped from a nearby wall, a young Guardsman by the name of Lenik was lifted into the air, his chest shredding into bloody tatters before being dragged into the darkness, leaving a trail of blood and clumps of flesh. 

The remaining Inquisitorial-Servants slumped against walls or sat down, holding hands in heads or dabbing away spots of blood that Lenik had sprayed upon them. Liana was standing before them all, with her Power-Sword drawn and pushed into the ground for a quick swipe, her Bolt Pistol held before her so if whatever had took the Guardsmen would return, she would be able to fell it. 

Zadac was weeping on the ground, his face turned pink from the blood and dust which had formed a unholy mixture upon it. Kyleis was standing above him, facing the rear with his Las-Pistol drawn in one hand, the other keeping Zadac in a firm grip. His brother, Thal was now next to Liana, discussing something with her that was lost to the others, his Las-Rifle trained upon the hole in the wall from which the attacker had erupted from. 

Antonius and Nathanial were sitting with their backs to the wall, having been thrown against it with bone jarring force. A small cut had blossomed across the chest of the latter and was now seeping blood, soaking his fatigues. Tears grew in his eyes, as he desperately tried to restrain from bursting out, his shaking form smelling of both urine and bodily order. 

The Retinue member who sat besides him was in a far better state, was trying to keep himself from lashing out at Nathanial, who, if he was honest was starting to get on his nerves. The Inquisitorial Retinue members were holding up far better than the Guardsmen, one of which was murmuring to himself in the background, his legs pulled tightly into his chest. 

Liana sniffed, the smell of blood burning into her senses and whispered to Thal “Prepare the Guard, we move further into the mines, whatever that thing was it is evident that it was the one which caused this world to fall silent” the Veteran nodded and stood, spinning on his heel he walked to the centre of the group and began to explain. Not one Guardsmen elected to stay behind, for each one knew if they did, they would be cursed as heretics and burned in the maelstrom of war. 

They followed the drops of blood and meat, with Tolan at the lead with his Flamer ignited, every ten or so minutes he would pull the trigger and reveal the distance to them. The tunnel seemed like it would never end. After yet another hour of descent they came out into a canteen, built for the miners so they did not have to return to the upper levels everyday. They sight was sickening. 

Miners, in their orange uniforms were splayed across tables, their bodies ripped and rent. One of the Guardsmen slipped on a pool of blood and wretched over his uniform as he found himself face to face with a rotting head leaking brain fluids while a horrifying laughter was released by Zadac who began to mutter over and over “I told you….I told you….I told you”. 

Upon the wall to the left was a fleshy sack, pulsing veins lined its surface along with bare muscles that twitched as lights were shorn upon them. Tolan looked at Liana who nodded, and the large man jogged over pulling hard on the trigger of his weapon and sending a cloud of flame onto the organism. She turned to the others and said “Tyranids”.

And as if on cue, all hell was unleashed.

++++++++

Nathanial was amongst the first to go, the blur leaping forwards and slicing his twitching form in half, his body impacting a table with a wet thud. Liana reeled back in horror when she realised what they had been facing. Standing at roughly three metres with a hardened shell of armour around it, the creature had four sets of scythe like arms raised ready for the kill on a whimpering man, a single eye sat within its angular head above a mouth filled with sharp tentacles that could snap bone and flesh alike. 

There was another two limbs used for killing, both were small things that ended in three claws glistening with newly spilled blood. The legs were long and muscular, and while the joints pointed the wrong way, one could tell they would be able to outrun any person within the room with ease. Liana looked at Thal who stared on in rage and horror and simply muttered “Lictor”. 

The scythes came down on the Guardsman, two penetrated deep at his shoulders while the others came in low, ripping through his stomach. The Lictor thread back its head and ripped, pulling the man in four. The four Guardsmen with Las-Rifles, in one last act of defiance charged forwards firing their weapons. 

The first lost his head to a mighty backhand, the talons cutting through bone and flesh and sending the body flying end over end into a nearby wall. A second screamed in agony as he became nothing more than a chest, head and spine. The two remaining men stared up at its tentacle filled face as each took a scything tool to their head, lifted into the air as the striking arms ripped through their torsos in quick succession. 

Tolan came barreling from his position, Flamer burning into the beast and struck it with one crisped shoulder. The Lictor stumbled, claws scraping across the hard floor as it tried to gain a grip. A second gout of flames caught the Tyranid in the head and caused it to howl loudly, shaking away the glowing orange embers before spinning around at the Guardsman. 

Without warning, a scything arm tore through flesh and bone, creating a bloody rift in the chest of Tolan. Blood fell from his mouth as the Lictor twisted its deadly appendage and ruptured the lungs of Tolan who gasped for air, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Kyleis yanked Zadac back, shouting “The Promethium tanks are ruptured! Its gonna blow!” and began to sprint the tunnel, with Antonius behind the pair and Thal and Liana bringing up the rear. 

Within the canteen, Tolan was cremated instantly as his tanks finally gave way. The Lictor roared as it disappeared in the flesh eating ball of flame. 

++++++++

The oxygen became thin as they continued to run, the flames that wreaked havoc behind them sucking it inwards. Thal stumbled and fell, deprived of oxygen for to long and Liana found herself dragging him along, his barely breathing form causing her trouble. Antonius was at her side suddenly, grabbing the fatigues of Thal he began to drag with one hand, the other pointing his Plasma Gun into the flames below. 

A hour or two passed until they reached the stair case, when they did each fell to their knees and took in great mouthfuls of air. Thal coughed, his form lifting from the ground as a bubble of blood and spit fell expanded outwards and popped, covering his face in the strange liquid. He turned his head and licked his lips saying “Well….That was enjoyable”. 

Liana smiled and let her head fall back onto the metal stair, but what was above brought a scream to her throat. The Lictor, its armour blackened and rent was dangling above, its legs holding it against the underside of one stair while the tendrils at its mouth flickered in the air. She drew her Bolt Pistol and pulled the trigger twice.

The Tyranid flew upwards, a pair of impact craters in its flesh dripping ichor and lumps of flesh. It spun around twice before landing in a crouched position directly above Liana. One of its scything arms had been sheered away, and now bloody tendons and muscle dangled from the wound dripping green blood on the armour of the Lady-Inquisitor. 
Without thinking, Antonius fired. However the stream of boiling Plasma went wild and struck the nearest wall, turning it into molten slag. It creaked and cracked, a small trickle of sand dropping in first and landing on the Lictor who sniffed with its tendrils. Finally it gave way with a burst of light, the tide of sand landed on the Lictor which crumpled into the stair and rolled past. 

With the force of a tsunami, the sand fell on the heads of the Inquisitorial Retinue and caused them to fall to the ground. Thal managed to find a railing and held on for his dear life, pulling himself into it as muscles were torn and ligaments were strained. Antonius, being the highest of them all, managed to throw himself out of the path of the sand onto his front, knocking the breath from his lungs. 

Liana was saved by Kyleis who leapt at her headfirst, knocking the pair into a access doorway and dragging the pain ridden witch with them. Finally the stream of sand ended, and the Inquisitorial Servants pulled themselves free, clawing their way up the natural ramp that had been created. 

++++++++

Andrik lifted the transport up with the piloting bars, pulling it into the air and spinning it around at a angle towards the ever-morning skies of Hell. The mining spire had rocked violently several minutes before, and not wanting to be crushed by the levels above he had deemed it safer to take to the skies. A Servitor, built in to the radar consol clicked and sent the signals through the plugs which wired Andrik to the vessel. 

Staring at them within his mind for several seconds, he quickly banked the vessel and headed downwards. 

++++++++

The five survivors dragged themselves into the desert, falling face first into the ground out of exhaustion. Liana spun on her back, coughing up sand and wiping away that which had fallen into her eyes with one paint derived gauntlet. A claw suddenly ripped from the sand and wrapped around her leg, pulling her beneath the sands to her chest. 

Screaming she reached out to Thal who was clawing at the sand to get at her when a scything talon ripped from the sand, spearing him upwards with a gush of warm blood that sprayed across the sand. He screamed in agony and drew a blade from his hip, a long curved thing that he had been gifted with several years earlier. He struck it into the flank of the arm, cracking it and causing the scythe to slip back beneath the sand, sending him falling to the floor. 

The Lady-Inquisitor was nearly completely under when the transport came above her. The vessel angled its nose to the sand, and eighteen Heavy Bolters opened up on the Inquisitor’s position, peppering the golden sand around her violently. Sand was sent spraying into the air, raining back down upon the injured Thal and Liana. 

++++++++

_Dear Lord-Inquisitor Kane,

While investigating Sigmus-Nine-Alpha my team came under attack from a new strain of Tyranicus Chameleo that was highly resilient to our attempts to harm it. The creature, which has been deemed the Hell-Lictor by those under me who survived finally succumbed from a mixture of Bolts and Las Rounds, however I am sad to say we did not find the body however I did manage to recover its left talon which is being transported to Voga as I write this message. 

Sigmus-Nine-Alpha has now been purged of any Xeno taint and a new mining force is on-route and will be here within a month. 

Yours sincerely, 
Liana Kalmia. _


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## Kale Hellas (Aug 26, 2009)

great story so far, no jess'ika yet (sorry i don't know how to spell her name)


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

Thanks Kale. This story is ended, and yes you spealt Jess'Ika correctly. There will be more however, the next one in fact will probably centre around Jess'Ika and those other members of the Retinue who did not take part in this one


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## Kobrakai (Jul 25, 2008)

I liked it DA. Shows how difficult it is truly to fight Tyranids, and how fragile humans are without weight of numbers :biggrin:

Like to see more to be honest mate.


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## cain the betrayer (Oct 12, 2009)

keep on the good work i would rep you even more if i could


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## Dusty's Corner (Aug 25, 2008)

Nice DA, Gritty. If I remember I might do some sketches (like a comic strip) someday.
Keep on writing dude, all the best and have some rep,
-Dusty


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## Ordo Xeno Commander (Jan 17, 2007)

Just bookmarking it haha, dont have time to read it right now


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Im reading now, but firstly, how on earth can you write for so long? XD 

I usually, loose the will after several paragraphs (because thats when the potential for description declines.. )


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

Cheers guys! As for Bobss- If I get a story/background/whatever that I like, I write it several times but I often change around things, edit out entire sections because the wording is wrong in my mind. Determination is they key word here I guess, if you keep at it and push yourself, you will do it. _However_ if the story line is wrong in your mind, don't push yourself through it, as writting something you do not want to is a right ol' pain in the arse.

Anybody else got comments? I appreciate it if you have


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## Kale Hellas (Aug 26, 2009)

whens the next one coming, must have more :biggrin:


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

Kale Hellas- I have not started writting the next one as of yet due to my attentions being spirited away with my new character Jamuka Khan. However, I shall start writting the next one today, and hopefully it will end up including Space Marines, Guard and obviously our good Inquisitor and her Retinue


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## two lls (Nov 25, 2009)

Hey,

this is a great piece - I like it mostly for the characters i think, thought there's a good plot to it too - love human Vs Tyranid stories - really brings out the characters i feel!

If you want a more in-depth review let me know!

cheers


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

Cheers Two II's! I appreciate it. If you want to give a more in-depth review that is your choice really, I am just glad you have posted


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