In Barbarus, present day.
Hades stared at the chaotic battlefield before him, taking a deep breath as he raised his grenade launcher.
Beside him, Mortarion grimly lifted his pistol, the Lantern, while the Deathshroud readied themselves.
Currently, they were traversing a corridor leading to the Death Guard gene-seed vault. What used to be a pristine hallway was now marred by bullet holes and corroded scars.
"I never thought someone would dare tamper with the Death Guard's gene-seed," came Mortarion's low voice over the comm.
The gene-seed dictates the next generation of the legion, significantly influencing the strength of new recruits. Every gene-seed extracted from a previous Astartes carries with it the warrior's combat experience. This allows a new recruit, upon receiving the gene-seed organ, to immediately access a vast array of combat skills.
However, gene-seeds are not entirely stable. Each has the potential for "mutation," with the probability and nature of mutations varying depending on the Legion. Some Legions have high mutation rates, while others, like the 14th Legion – the Death Guard, are more stable. These mutations can be beneficial or detrimental. For instance, Rogal Dorn's gene-seed increases an Imperial Fist's pain threshold, but slightly deteriorates their salivary glands.
Apart from mutations, there's another way to alter the impact of the gene-seed on future generations: contamination. For example, the 3rd Legion, the Emperor's Children, saw large quantities of their gene-seed infected with a blight early in their history, causing a significant reduction in their numbers before the original stock was recovered.
The importance of the gene-seed is self-evident.
Should anyone sabotage the Death Guard gene-seed without their knowledge, Mortarion felt a shiver of dread crawl up his spine.
Calas Typhon. There seems to be a real issue. But why?
Fortunately, the original stock had detected this problem in time. As long as the tainted gene-seed batch was destroyed before it infiltrated the Death Guard, the damage could be minimized.
Mortarion glanced at Hades, who was hurrying ahead. How did he always manage to detect these subtle threats?
As they neared the gene-seed vault, signs of conflict intensified. Scattered remains of servitors and temple guards lay strewn under the walls, lifeless.
Gripping his grenade launcher tighter, they rounded the last corner—
Hades gasped.
A Mechanicum sage was pinned against the blast door, resembling a giant octopus. His crimson robe, mostly crushed by protruding weaponry, fluttered in one corner. A still-smoking machine gun menacingly pointed towards them.
The corridor was heavily damaged by gunfire, with spent shells littering the floor.
A flicker of red light glinted across the sage's face.
"Reinforcements?"
A binary-coded message encrypted with the Mechanicum's secret code transmitted into Hades' mind.
However, as Mortarion's towering figure appeared from behind the corner, recognizing the original and realizing friendly forces had arrived, the Mechanicum sage peeled off the blast door, revealing the seamless door behind him.
Only when the sage fell did Hades notice the extensive corrosion damage to his fundamental structures.
Ensuring no immediate threats were around, Hades quickly knelt beside the sage, performing basic first aid and stabilizing unstable power sources.
The sage, realizing Hades meant no harm, allowed him to assist. A raspy electronic voice began, "Honored Death Guard, I apologize for my inability to salute you."
Mortarion, observing the scene, remained silent for a long moment before speaking, "You've done well, sage."
"The Death Guard are in your debt."
"Thank you, my lord. Let me recount the previous battle."
"I am Biologist Sage Druid, responsible for cultivating the Death Guard's gene-seed, liaising with the apothecaries, and overseeing some biotransformation projects on Barbarus. A day ago, an apothecary claiming to be Laton from the Death Guard approached, requesting to inspect the gene-seed batch prepared for new recruits and the organ cultivation systems."
"After verifying his Death Guard credentials, I led him to the gene-seed vault."
Hades glanced at Mortarion, who ignored him.
"To ensure security, I added seven layers of scans before each gene-seed vault. However, on the third scan, the detector indicated the presence of potential psychic radiation in the apothecary's vials."
Mortarion frowned.
"I initially thought it was a personal concoction, as apothecaries often carry private elixirs. But as per the 'Gene-Seed Preservation Regulations', radioactive substances must be removed."
"I asked to secure it."
"He refused and attacked immediately."
"Using psychic abilities, he managed to incapacitate most of my temple guards and servitors, nearly reaching the last line of defense before the gene-seed vault."
"I eventually held my ground, confident that I injured both his lungs. The apothecary fled."
"All my servitors and temple guards were killed. I chose to stay and defend, awaiting reinforcements."
"But your distress signal went unanswered."
As Hades tightened a screw, he responded. He had discovered that the personnel overseeing the area had been cleverly reassigned. Using Calas Typhon's authority to recruit for the Death Guard, everyone was diverted. If Druid hadn't chosen to stand his ground, the apothecary might have returned for a second strike.
But Apothecary Laton?
Where did he come from? Hades quickly sifted through his memories of the Death Guard.
His recollections paused at an afternoon in the data-library. He stood inside a decontamination chamber, watching through the glass as a group of apothecaries supervised his decontamination.
That man was there, at the back of the apothecaries, watching him intently.