Zwillingsgipfel was located far enough from the galactic center that it didn't see much intention from the Imperium. It still had an Imperial governor but he allowed a good bit of latitude on the planet as he saw that some relaxing of the rules had a good effect.
Until a civil war broke out.
Governor Marsey Dotes managed to put down the insurrection that broke out in the army and spread to disaffected parts of the civilian population largely with Naval Troops, known as the White Stripes. With the planets defensive fleet being under the command of his brother Admiral Dosey Dotes, the entire fleet stayed loyal.
The rebellion was crushed in short order, the last vestiges of insurrection being stomped out a mere three years after the fighting started.
Then the waiting began. The wait for the inevitable investigation by the Inquisition.
As the planet began reconstruction of the war ravaged areas the Inquisition moved slowly, eventually sending Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Kupfer to find any source of heresy.
Strangely enough he didn't find any in the origins of the rebellion, but in the war ravaged areas strange things were going on among the newly displaced populations.
Kupfer quickly tracked down the source of this behaviour and gave it its proper name: Heresy. He moved to stomp it out.
(Inquisitor Kupfer at the head of his soldiers.)
When rumours of foul rituals slipped into his ear he moved quickly. Governor Dotes quickly supplied him with a squad of White Stripes and Kupfer took some of his own Stormtroopers with him to sniff out and destroy the taint of Chaos.
It was a foul odour indeed.
As Kupfer and his small escort moved into the slum they could hear the screaming, it was not even muffled.
(The cultists ready their victims for sacrifice to Tzeentch.)
They moved more quickly toward the noise and scanning the area they detected five distinct ritual sacrifices about to be performed.
(Cultists in ambuscade)
Cultists moved to stop them and heavy and semi-automatic weapons five soon drown out the screaming of the restrained victims.
Heading straight for the closest rituals the small group of Imperialists split into three parties. The White Stripes rushed at a destroyed tank-turned-bunker while Kupfer and his stormtroopers headed for a ruined cathedral.
(Kupfer and his band run to prevent the ritual from being completed.)
Some cultists dropped down directly in his path. As they struggled with his stormtroopers in desperate hand-to-hand combat Kupfer went around them to draw a bead on those performing the ritual.
(Cultists attempt to stop the inexorable advance of the Inquisitor's men.)
While surprised in the initial assault the stormtroopers quickly overwhelmed the cultists and pushing them back pursued them towards the screams of the victim.
(The cultists fall back before the armoured Imperial soldiers.)
(Close combat abounds as cultists try to prevent the rituals from being interrupted.)
Heavy stubber fire traced out of the improvised bunker as the White Stripes rushed past on either side, ignoring the fire as the Inquisitor had told them that stopping the rituals was more important than anything else.
The storm troopers raced past the cultists they had just beaten in close combat, ignoring their fire to target the cultists about to slit the throat of the sacrificial victim.
Just as the knife was coming down a hotshot lasgun blast went through the shoulder of the woman about to do the killing. Her partner dove for the knife as it fell out of her useless hands and she toppled to the floor. He snatched it up only to be gunned down by a subsequent burst of las-fire.
(Two cultists die while the hostage is saved.)
Another victim was set up on a table where a buzzsaw was screeching in motion. The cultist was about to push the button on the conveyor belt in the impromptu set up when the White Stripes with Inquisitor Kupfer burst around the corner. She ducked from the fire behind the contraption. The men didn't dare shoot in fear of hitting the victim and completing the ritual. Then the other group of White Stripes fired on her from the other side forcing her out of her cover.
(Blam-O! Right to the noggin.)
As the cultists head popped into view Kupfer took careful aim with his bolt pistol and the bloody pulp that was the result told of his skill with the weapon.
His next shot smashed the buzz saw itself.
This time it was the turn of the shooting to be drown out by three unholy screams that were suddenly cut off.
The air scintillated with amber and purple waves of power and the waves coalesced into a being standing not far from where the newly killed cultist had fallen.
(Stop! Herald time!)
The being glistened, almost glowed, tentacles came from its half moon shaped head. The eyes were as full of mystery as they were of menace and they focused on Kupfer, blazing briefly before a splutter and a cough came from the creature.
The spell was instantly broken, the creature looked up, now with a look more akin to fear and bolted as gun fire erupted in its direction. A splash of yellow incandescent liquid indicated that one of the shots hit home and the Herald of Tzeentch ran around the corner of the ruined building, the storm troopers in hot pursuit.
(Not so tough with your tails between your legs.)
With the possibility of ending the rituals over, Kupfer ordered his men to kill as many of the cultists as possible.
A few of the White Stripes were down at this point, mostly from the cultist armed with the heavy stubber in the bunker and he was the first to feel their wrath, now that they had slipped the leash.
Autogun fire found a weak spot in the bunker and the man slunk down, disappearing inside the ruined tank, never to rise again.
The leader of the band tried to rally his men and shot down one of the White Stripes only to feel their anger turn on him next. Quickly the armed cultists were dispatched as the unarmed ones that had completed their rituals ran.
Following the trail of incandescent ichor around the corner the storm troopers quickly tracked down the Herald. The daemon gave a screech as they rushed him and though he was quicker than them with his weapon, he was less skillful and quickly disappeared under the butts of their lasguns, the ichor squirting over his attackers with each downward stroke.
(All of that sacrificing for nothing.)
One armed cultists remained and he fled with Kupfer in hot pursuit. Autogun fire tracked him but he managed to get to cover behind an abandoned car. He took aim at the rapidly approaching inquisitor and fired but he missed and Kupfer was upon the cultist. The former's powersword arced down and cut through the man's weapon and then through his hip, gouging his leg deeply. The man staggered as the sword came around, the force of the blow cutting through his right arm and deep into his chest.
(Kupfer re-sheaths his sword after wiping the blood off on his dead enemies cowl.)
Kupfer took stock of the situation. Several of the Cultists had escaped. They would spread word of the summoning to others. He had done well this day in ending a more dire threat but the taint of Chaos was upon the planet now and it would require more effort to stamp it out.
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