After dismissing the Adeptus Arbites personnel, Inquisitor Kairas turned his gaze to Maine's crew.
He walked up to Maine, his previous purely commanding tone softening slightly, replaced by a more cautious official demeanor.
"Given the severity of the situation and this location's connection to the Adeptus Mechanicus," Inquisitor Kairas said, "the Inquisition requires your assistance to ensure the purification operation is thoroughly executed, avoiding any subsequent… technical lingering issues.
At the same time, I hope to establish direct communication with the Magos behind you.
This matter is far-reaching, and I need to personally inform the Adeptus Mechanicus of the situation, clarifying the absolute necessity of the Inquisition's actions to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."
Maine looked at the Inquisitor, knowing that the other party was both requesting assistance and probing the Adeptus Mechanicus' bottom line regarding the matter.
He said no more and once again contacted Magos Osiris, who was far away on Neksum Forge World, via an encrypted link.
The moment the communication connected, Maine could distinctly feel the displeasure from the other end of the channel.
Evidently, multiple requests for the same mission within a short period had already annoyed Osiris.
Maine wasted no time, immediately giving a brief report of the current situation, highlighting the Inquisitor's involvement and his intention to speak directly.
"...Understood. Connect him." Osiris' synthesized voice carried a hint of disturbed impatience, but he quickly determined that direct communication with the Inquisitor was the most efficient solution at present.
Maine temporarily granted communication access to Inquisitor Kairas Walker.
"Greetings, Magos," Inquisitor Kairas began, his tone maintaining the formalized respect due to an Adeptus Mechanicus Magos, "I am Inquisitor Karras Walker.
The current situation is that within the factory under your purview, clear signs of Chaos corruption have been discovered, marked with the 'Eight-Pointed Star'.
According to Imperial law and the Inquisition's duties, the highest-grade purification protocols must be immediately executed to eradicate the threat.
For this purpose, the Inquisition formally requests the assistance of your operational squad and hopes that this action will receive your understanding and support."
Silence fell on the other end of the communication for a moment, save for faint data stream static.
Then, Osiris' steady yet cold voice spoke again. This time, the words were directed to all members of Maine's crew, the command chillingly clear: "Maine, and everyone, listen carefully. The Inquisitor possesses the highest authority to handle such incidents. Your next task is to fully cooperate with the Inquisition's actions.
Abandon your futile sympathy and hesitation. The core of the purification protocol is 'thoroughness'.
When the Inquisitor points out targets to be eliminated, you will execute the elimination. No omissions are allowed, and no survivors are to be left.
Any form of mercy, at this moment, is the greatest betrayal to the Imperium, to the Omnissiah, and to your own safety. Execute the order."
The communication was abruptly cut off.
A dead silence fell over the channel.
Rebecca opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately just let out an annoyed "Tsk."
Pilar nervously wriggled his long arms.
Dorio's fists clenched and unclenched. Valerie remained silent within the iron guard cockpit.
They all understood the finality in Osiris' words and the cruel laws of this universe that the command represented.
Despite their immense confusion, repulsion, and even a momentary urge to defy the order, the long-standing mercenary life's ingrained obedience, and the deeply ingrained habit of following 'the Boss'' directives, ultimately overrode their personal feelings.
They were now the Adeptus Mechanicus' blade; wherever it pointed, they had to strike.
Maine took a deep breath of the air, thick with oil and the smell of blood, and turned to Inquisitor Kairas, his voice somewhat stiff from deliberately suppressing his emotions: "We have received clear instructions from the Magos. Maine's crew awaits your command."
The Inquisitor nodded slightly, satisfied with the Adeptus Mechanicus' "efficiency" and "rationality." He said no more, raising his hand and waving it forward.
"Commence operation. Purify all sources of contamination, leave no one behind."
The heavy factory doors slowly opened again under the control of the Inquisition soldiers, revealing the all-consuming darkness beyond.
Maine's crew followed the Inquisition's forces, stepping into the factory that had already been condemned to death, about to carry out a ruthless slaughter that they deeply resisted but had no choice but to perform.
—
The heavy factory doors fully opened, and Planetary Defence Force soldiers, like a grey tide, poured silently and efficiently into the factory's main workshop area in standard skirmish lines.
The hum of lasguns and the occasional roar of promethium flamers instantly replaced the previous cacophony of workers' protests.
Maine's crew, accompanying Inquisitor Kairas, a small squad of elite Stormtroopers, and the silent astartes of the Imperial Fists, did not participate in this outer 'cleanup' work.
Like a sharp spearhead, they bypassed the main area, which was turning into a slaughterhouse, and rapidly advanced into the depths of the factory along a relatively secluded maintenance passage.
Inquisitor Kairas clearly had a specific objective.
His gaze sharply swept over the passage walls, pipe joints, and the ground, seemingly searching for a particular type of trace.
Maine and the others followed behind him, only seeing the receding backs of the Planetary Defence Force and the faintly unsettling sounds coming from the end of the passage.
"Stop." The Inquisitor suddenly raised his hand, signaling.
He crouched down, wiping his finger over a barely noticeable, slightly viscous dark stain on the ground, and sniffed it at his nose.
His face grew even darker.
"This way." He unhesitatingly turned into a branch pipe. At the entrance of this pipe, a crude, twisted, and scrawled scratch, somewhat similar to the symbol Morris had found, was carved into the metal wall.
Maine and the others felt a chill, realizing they had completely overlooked these details before.
The team moved quickly along the narrow pipe. Stormtroopers led the way, their movements precise and deadly. Any panicked worker suddenly emerging from a side maintenance compartment or vent was instantly incinerated by hellguns or plasma weapons.
The astartes warrior, like a mobile fortress, walked in the middle of the team, providing absolute protection for the Inquisitor. The oppressive feeling from his massive body moving in the confined space was overwhelming.
The Inquisitor occasionally stopped, examining traces that seemed meaningless to Maine—a puddle of unusually colored liquid, a few seemingly unconscious scratches on the wall, or even a small pile of ashes of unknown composition.
He was like an experienced hunting dog, closely tracking the invisible 'scent' in the air.
"The source of contamination is attempting to move deeper; it's looking for more complex structures to hide itself," the Inquisitor murmured without turning his head, as if talking to himself, yet also explaining to Maine and the others behind him. "It's cunning, knowing how to use these ignorant mortals as cover and shields."
They finally arrived before a heavy blast door marked "Core Reactor Pre-Processing Area" located on the lowest level of the factory.
On the ground outside the blast door lay several workers' bodies, gruesomely killed, not by gunfire or flames, but more as if torn apart by some immense force.
The air was thick with the smell of ozone and an indescribable, sickly sweet scent mixed with decay.
The Inquisitor carefully examined the blast door's control panel; it bore marks of violent damage and corrosion by some acidic substance.
"It's inside. And it's grown stronger, or... more impatient," Inquisitor Kairas stood up, his eyes coldly fixed on Maine and the Imperial Fists warrior. "Prepare for a real fight. The thing inside can no longer be called 'human'."
He waved his hand, and a Stormtrooper stepped forward, placing a melta bomb on the blast door's hydraulic lock.
A flash of searing light, and the heavy metal blast door collapsed inwards with a screeching tearing sound, revealing the deep, unstable, glowing darkness behind it.
The superficial cleansing of the purification operation continued behind them, but the true hunt had only just begun.
Maine tightened his grip on his flamethrower. He knew that what they were about to face might be the real reason Magos Osiris had commanded them to "leave no survivors."