I made my way through the corridors, my mind already sharpening to the task at hand. The assassins had been captured with laughable ease; the highlords clearly underestimated me. Or maybe they thought they could wear me down by attrition. Either way, I would make them regret their insolence. Farseer Malekith… the name was like poison in my thoughts, and I intended to purge it.
The door to the interrogation chamber hissed open, revealing the room's sterile white interior. The four assassins were restrained to the chairs, heads bowed in defiance or maybe shame. Their bodies still bore the marks of the electro shocks, small wisps of smoke curling up from their armor. My guards were already in position, the Sslyth standing ready, their multifaceted eyes gleaming with anticipation.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, the sound of it sealing shut a satisfying click. "Let us begin," I murmured, and the Sslyth guards tightened their grip on their weapons.
I strode up to the first assassin, a wiry figure with eyes like embers. "You made a mistake coming here," I began, my voice steady. "But I won't hold that against you. No, I'm far more interested in who sent you." I leaned in, close enough to feel his breath hitch. "Farseer Malekith. What does he want?"
The assassin spat at my feet, a desperate act of defiance. I chuckled softly. "Ah, the bravado. How quaint." I gave a mental command to the guards, and they jabbed an electro prod into his side. His body convulsed, his mouth opened in a silent scream. I waited until the shuddering stopped.
"Speak," I commanded again, and this time, I let a tendril of my power slip out. The room chilled, and the air seemed to grow heavier as if it resisted my very presence. "You will tell me what I want to know. Or you will suffer… greatly."
The second assassin, a woman with short-cropped hair and a scar across her cheek, shifted in her seat. She tried to hide the fear in her eyes, but I could see it. "Malekith wants you gone," she blurted out, "He… he believes you are a threat to his plans. A prophecy… he thinks you are the one who will ruin him."
A prophecy. That piqued my interest. "Tell me more," I urged, leaning in closer, "What is this prophecy? What does it say about me?"
She hesitated, and I could see her weighing her options. "Speak," I repeated, my voice like ice.
She swallowed hard. "Malekith believes… he believes you will bring about his downfall. He has seen it in the warp, in visions… He sees you standing over him, with… with a blade of light. He thinks if he destroys you first, he can avoid it."
A blade of light. I allowed myself a small, amused smile. "And where is he now? What are his plans?"
The woman hesitated again, but a glance at the suffering of her companion seemed to steel her resolve. "He's hiding, regrouping with his council in the Spire of Eternal Dusk… He knows you'll come for him."
I leaned back, satisfied with what I had learned. "Good," I whispered, "because that is exactly what I intend to do."
I turned to leave, but then paused, glancing back at the assassins. "Dispose of them," I ordered my guards. "Send a message back to Malekith. Tell him I am coming, and there will be no hiding from what is to come."
I stepped out of the room and made my way back down the hall, feeling a surge of anticipation. Malekith had sent his pawns, but I would make sure he understood the folly of playing such games with me.
I tapped my wrist and a holoscreen appeared with an outgoing call to mother "Mother he's sent more are the idiots in position yet?" she smiled through the screen "Just finished putting them in position dear lets see if his craft world can survive the hammer of the imperium" she burst out laughing at the title and I smiled with her.
A small chapter known as the hammers of the imperium were attempting to open a webway portal near the halo stars as a presumed last ditch effort to escape back to Imperium space we allowed their transport but sent them directly towards the craftworld instead.
"Lets see if this offshoot of the great vulkan can put up a decent fight against the enemies of mankind" I laughed uproariously as they immediately began to fire upon one another.
I watched the holoscreen intently as the scene unfolded. The laughter between my mother and me was genuine, tinged with a mix of excitement and anticipation. This was a dance of destruction, carefully orchestrated to bring chaos to Farseer Malekith's doorstep.
The Hammers of the Imperium—a small but stubborn chapter, obsessed with their own glory—were unknowingly serving as the perfect tool for our plans. Their arrogance had made them easy to manipulate. They thought they were on a secret mission to reclaim some forgotten relic near the Halo Stars. Instead, they had been sent directly into the jaws of Malekith's Craftworld.
"Fools," I muttered with a grin. "They never did learn to look beyond their own narrow vision of honor and duty."
Through the holoscreen, I watched the Imperium ships emerge from the webway portal, their weapons already primed. Almost immediately, the Craftworld's defenses activated, and a barrage of energy weapons began to light up the void between them. The Imperium ships returned fire, their lance batteries and macro cannons spitting fury, unaware that their enemy was far more than they had bargained for.
The Craftworld's sleek, elegant ships darted around the lumbering Imperium vessels, their crystalline weapons cutting through armor and shielding with ease. But the Astartes were nothing if not relentless. They counterattacked with brutal efficiency, torpedoes streaking across the darkness like falling stars. Explosions bloomed in the void, brief flowers of fire and death.
"They're putting up a better fight than I thought," I admitted, watching as a Craftworld cruiser was torn in half by a well-placed volley. "But they won't last. Malekith's arrogance will see to that."
Mother's voice crackled through the holoscreen again. "Indeed, dear. The Hammers may be fierce, but they're still blind. They don't know the true enemy they face."
I leaned back, observing the battle unfold, feeling the thrill of the unknown. I knew Malekith was watching this too, feeling his irritation mount with every passing moment. This was a message, clear and direct: his schemes would not go unchallenged.
"Do you think he realizes yet?" I asked Mother. "Does he know we're the ones who set this little surprise in motion?"
Her smile widened, cold and confident. "Oh, I have no doubt. His pride will demand he strike back soon enough. He thinks himself a master strategist, but he's forgotten one simple truth: you can't outplay a game when you don't know the rules."
I nodded. "Then we'll keep him guessing. Keep him moving. Every step he takes will be a step into a trap of his own making."
I turned my attention back to the battlefield, feeling the pulse of the conflict in my veins. The Hammer of the Imperium and Malekith's forces were tearing each other apart, exactly as planned. For now, we would let them dance.