"Inquisitor, will you now inform us of our mission?"
Theokkos' gaze fell upon the Marine Commander standing next to him in the control bridge of the Astartes battle-cruiser Abomination of Desolation. The Imperial warship had been loaned to the Inquisitor by the Desolation Templars, along with three full companies of the Chapter's finest warriors. The Marine Commander of this detachment was none other than the Chapter Master himself, Dadhikras Rhadamanthys, and he stood next to the Inquisitor, his eyes seeming to inhale every ounce of air between them as they stared coldly at Theokkos.
Theokkos felt his pulse quicken; he was not comfortable or trusting in these Marines. Scanning their history records, he had uncovered mutations in their gene-seed which proved unsettling to him. Their occulobe implants, designed to heighten perception and sharpen eyesight, also produced a mysterious black film over the eyes, resulting in cold, alien ovals of pitch black, from which no light fell upon, nor reflected off of. When a Desolation Templar was unhelmeted, as Master Rhadamanthys was currently, their inhuman eyes seemed to track you from any angle, from any position, from any distance. To the Inquisitor, the effects of the mutation were undeniably foul, for he could not look into their eyes and judge whether or not these men were righteous or fallen. Furthermore, he suspected that they preferred it this way, and perhaps had somehow engineered the mutation on purpose.
But what discomforted him even more was the mutation of their multi-lung. The organ's connection to the trachea had formed into a bizarre mutation, almost remeniscent of a tree's roots anchored into the ground, that crawled up and down the windpipe before settling in as its growth slowed and then halted. No purpose was discernible in the mutated tissue save one: whenever a Desolation Templar spoke, the organ would begin to slowly restrict, resulting in a sensation of pain that seemed to simultaneously burn away and tear up the Marine's throat. While no physical damage was caused, the effect was undeniable. The result of the mutation, so far as Theokkos could distill, was an unnatural silence that permeated the entire Chapter. While Theokkos knew Marines to be short of words, saving long speeches for moments of glory or desperation on the battlefield, the Desolation Templars had taken this behavior to a disquieting extreme. Part of the initiation ritual of a Desolation Templar was a partial oath of silence, whereby the Marine honored the Chapter's genetic mutation by avoiding speech unless it was deemed necessary.
And the only time a Templar deemed it necessary was on the field of battle, where short vocal commands were spoken, almost whispered, as the Chapter silently engaged the enemy. Vocalization of extraneous thoughts, personal feelings, or any similar speech that did not directly concern itself with the Chapter's survival was shunned. The oath was known as "the Ban," and because of it, most communication between Templars consisted primarily of hand signals and body language, silently given between the Master and his Lieutenants, the Lieutenant and his Captains, a Captain and his Sergeants, and between a Sergeant and his men. Theokkos did not know if punishment was ever needed to enforce "the Ban," but the Master's cold, implacable stare, similar to every one of his Marines', gave him the impression that in all likelihood that the answer was no.
Theokkos caught himself as his mind dove into the million suspicions he held against the Chapter, and returned his attention towards the Marine Commander standing next to him. Rhadamanthys, like Theokkos, was encased within an ancient suit of Terminator Armour. It was the colour of a rich purple: darker, almost blackened, when shadows fell upon it, more etiolated when rays of light were cast upon it. The Templar symbol of a red hemisphere, with a metallic cross inlaid across it, glowed vibrantly in the light of the control bridge.
Theokkos decided that he would trust the Commander and his men for now, and that it was time that Rhadamanthys and his warriors knew their mission. Looking at the galactic positioning chart, Theokkos ordered the *Abomination of Desolation* to drop from the warp immediately. He knew that the navigators would wonder why he was ordering this so far into empty space, away from any nearby system, but they obeyed without question, and as creaks and groans ran across the battle-cruiser's immense frame, Theokkos turned fully towards the Commander, the heavy silence of the bridge scattering like mist as the Inquisitor gave voice to his commands.
"Rhadamanthys, do you see the lumenescent star that hangs in the sea of black ahead us, shining more brightly than any other in our view?" The Inquisitor was irritated to see that the Commander either did not believe, or did not hold interest, in the Inquisitor's question, and kept his black stare fully on Theokkos as he continued on which his carefully prepared words.
