THE HORUS HERESY
Graham McNeill
THE OUTCAST DEAD
The truth lies within
original release by unknown
edited by fractalnoise
v1.1 (2012.01)
The Horus Heresy
It is a time of legend.
Mighty heroes battle for the right to rule the galaxy. The vast armies of the Emperor of Earth have conquered the galaxy in a Great Crusade – the myriad alien races have been smashed by the Emperor’s elite warriors and wiped from the face of history.
The dawn of a new age of supremacy for humanity beckons.
Gleaming citadels of marble and gold celebrate the many victories of the Emperor. Triumphs are raised on a million worlds to record the epic deeds of his most powerful and deadly warriors.
First and foremost amongst these are the primarchs, superheroic beings who have led the Emperor’s armies of Space Marines in victory after victory. They are unstoppable and magnificent, the pinnacle of the Emperor’s genetic experimentation. The Space Marines are the mightiest human warriors the galaxy has ever known, each capable of besting a hundred normal men or more in combat.
Organised into vast armies of tens of thousands called Legions, the Space Marines and their primarch leaders conquer the galaxy in the name of the Emperor.
Chief amongst the primarchs is Horus, called the Glorious, the Brightest Star, favourite of the Emperor, and like a son unto him. He is the Warmaster, the commander-in-chief of the Emperor’s military might, subjugator of a thousand thousand worlds and conqueror of the galaxy. He is a warrior without peer, a diplomat supreme.
As the flames of war spread through the Imperium, mankind’s champions will all be put to the ultimate test.
CONTENTS
THE OUTCAST DEAD
The Horus Heresy
CONTENTS
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
PROLOGUE
PART 1
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
PART 2
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
The City of Sight
NEMO ZHI-MENG Choirmaster of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica
ANIQ SARASHINA Mistress of the Scholastica Psykana
EVANDER GREGORAS Master of the Cryptaesthesians
KAI ZULANE Astropath seconded to Navigator House Castana
ATHENA DIYOS Astropath of the City of Sight
ABIR IBN KHALDUN Astropath of the City of Sight
The Outcast Dead
ATHARVA Adept Exemptus of the Thousand Sons
TAGORE Sergeant, 15th Company, World Eaters
SUBHA Warrior of the 15th Company, World Eaters
ASUBHA Warrior of the 15th Company, World Eaters
SEVERIAN Warrior of the 25th Company, Luna Wolves, The ‘Wolf’
ARGENTUS KIRON Warrior of the 28th Company, Emperor’s Children
The Hunters
YASU NAGASENA Seer Hunter of the Black Ships
KARTONO Bondsman to Yasu Nagasena
MAJOR GENERAL MAXIM GOLOVKA Commander of the Black Sentinels
SATURNALIA Warrior of the Legio Custodes
The Lords of Terra
ROGAL DORN Primarch of the Imperial Fists
The Petitioner’s City
PALLADIS NOVANDIO Priest of the Temple of Woe
ROXANNE CASTANA Supplicant of the Temple of Woe
BABU DHAKAL Clan lord of the Dhakal
GHOTA DHAKAL Enforcer
Wonders are many on Earth, and the greatest of these is Man, who rides the Great Ocean and makes his way through the deeps, through wind-swept valleys of perilous seas that surge and sway.
– Attributed to the Tragedean Sophocles, pre-M1
Dreams are mirrors in which are reflected the true character of the dreamer. What should happen when the individual face of the dreamer sees himself reflected in the collective dream mirror of all humanity?
– Aniq Sarashina, Oneirocritica Sarashina,Vol XXXV
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
– Nemo Zhi-Meng, Choirmaster of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica
From: Chirurgeon Bellan Tortega (BT), certified neuro-psychic attendant
To: Patriarch Verduchina XXVII, House Castana, Navis Nobilite
Observed period: Cycles 15-18
Subject: Zulane, Kai (KZ)
Evaluation summary: NON-FUNCTIONAL/POTENTIALLY SALVAGEABLE
Excerpted from 4423-4553: Full Case Notes to follow.
TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT BEGINS.
BT: Can you tell me what happened on the Argo?
KZ: No.
BT: No?
KZ: No.
BT: Why not?
KZ: I don’t want to.
BT: With respect, you are in no position to withhold anything you know. The incident involving the Argo represents a significant financial deficit for House Castana, not to mention the considerable loss of prestige with respect to the XIII Legion.
KZ: Take it up with Nemo. I was only loaned to Castana, I don’t care about their losses.
BT: You should. You should also know that my evaluation will play a significant part in deciding whether you can continue with House Castana. Or continue at all for that matter.
KZ: Like I said, I don’t care.
BT: Do you WANT to be sent to the hollow mountain?
KZ: Of course not. No sane person would.
BT: Then I would co-operate if I were you.
KZ: You don’t understand, it’s not about co-operation.
BT: Then enlighten me, Kai. What IS it about?
KZ: It’s about hearing ten thousand men and women die. It’s about hearing every single last thought as their bodies were torn apart by things. It’s about hearing the terror of people about to die every time I close my eyes. It’s about not putting myself through that nightmare again. [Subject breaks down. Three minutes of sobbing.]
BT: Are you finished?
KZ: For now.
BT: Then do you feel like talking about what happened?
KZ: Terra, no! Maybe someday, but even when I do, it won’t be with you.
BT: Why not?
KZ: Because you’re not here to help me.
BT: That’s EXACTLY why I’m here, Kai.
KZ: No it’s not, and stop calling me Kai as if we’re friends. Your only purpose in being here is to show the XIII Legion that House Castana can keep its house in order. I’m an embarrassment to your precious patriarch.
BT: No, you are part of the family. All Patriarch Verduchina wants is to help.
KZ: Then leave me alone. The Argo isn’t a memory I want to go back to. Not yet, maybe never.
BT: Confronting the past is the only way you can face the future. Surely you can see it’s not healthy to dwell on such macabre memories. Purge them and you can return to your duties.
KZ: You’re assuming I WANT to return to my duties.
BT: Don’t you?
KZ: [One minute pause] I don’t know.
TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT ENDS.
Addendum:
Sire, as this excerpt clearly shows, Kai Zulane displays classic symptoms of denial, paranoia and an inability to face the truth of his ordeal. It is my conclusion that he believes he is responsible for the events that led to the loss of the Argo, though the truth of this is for others, more qualified in the fields of multi-dimensional overlaps, to determine. However, I do not believe any individuals could live through so traumatic an experience without some psychic scarring, none of which is evident in Kai Zulane’s aetheric aura. I would, therefore, venture the opinion that Kai Zulane is not beyond recovery. Kai Zulane represents a significant investment in time and effort (both by House Castana and the Adeptus Astra Telepathica) and to simply ‘cut our losses’ and send him to the hollow mountain would, at this point, be premature.