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Secrets of the Tau – Extract

Warhammer Adventures

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Chapter One

Escape

The monsters were coming. They were scrambling up the towering mushroom-trees, their claws slicing into the mottled trunks. Zelia didn’t know which way to run. She had scuttling aliens to the back of her and a heavily armed spaceship to the front. A woman stood on the gangplank, her longcoat billowing in the wind. She wore a curved sword in a scabbard, a beamer slung low on her waist. Her fingers were covered with rings, and her long brown hair was swept back beneath a tri-cornered hat.

‘Who are you?’ Zelia asked as the woman stared at them incredulously.

‘Who cares?’ Talen snapped at her, before turning to the newcomer. ‘We’re about to be lunch. There are Genestealers on their way… Lots of Genestealers.’

‘So it would appear,’ the woman said as one of the creatures scrambled into view. It hissed, its long tongue tasting the air. ‘Get on the ship.’

Talen was right – introductions could wait.

‘Don’t look at its eyes,’ the woman shouted, running back up the gangplank. She snatched up her beamer and fired, the bolt hitting the Genestealer in the chest. It was thrown over the edge, its howl echoing through the forest.

The danger wasn’t over. The rest of the pack were closing in fast.

‘Move,’ the woman commanded, stepping aside so the children could race up the boarding ramp.

‘You don’t have to tell us twice,’ Talen said, pelting up the gangplank, Zelia and Mekki following close behind. Fleapit brought up the rear, running on all fours.

All the time, the woman was firing, picking off Genestealers as they scrabbled over the edge. She only paused as Fleapit scampered past.

‘Is that a…?’ she began, before deciding that conversation was best left for now. ‘Never mind.’

She turned to bolt up the ramp, the monsters at her heels.

Talen looked around, spotting a barrel near the wall. It clanged as he yanked it over on its side and kicked it down the gangplank. It rolled down the ramp, taking the Genestealers with it.

‘Clever boy,’ the woman said, slapping a control at the top of the slope. The ramp swung up, shutting the monsters out. ‘Although next time try not to waste a barrel of promethium, eh?’

‘You’d rather I let them in?’ Talen snapped back.

‘Oh, I like you.’ She turned and sprinted through the ship. ‘But that won’t keep them out for long. Come on.’

The children followed her, chasing through arched corridors to emerge onto a pristine flight deck.

Zelia was impressed. Her mother’s ship, the Scriptor, was a ramshackle affair, held together by rust and clutter. In contrast, the woman’s flight deck was spotless, gleaming cogitator terminals edged with shining brass. The deck plates were polished and the lume-globes bright. Even the seats were covered in the finest grox-leather.

It was perfect, except for one small detail.

‘Where are your crew?’ Zelia asked. A ship this size should have been full of people, each station on the flight deck manned. Instead, the only other soul – if you could call it that – was a mindless servitor standing dumbly in the corner. The woman didn’t even acknowledge its presence, which wasn’t surprising. According to official records, servitors were vat-grown clones, their limbs replaced by cybernetic parts. Barely more than walking lumps of muscle, they were used for manual labour all across the Imperium and always gave Zelia the creeps. There was something about their eyes… so dull and lifeless. And of course there were the rumours of what… or rather who… they really were.

Striding across the deck, the woman threw her hat through the air. It landed on the servitor’s chrome-plated head. The cyborg didn’t even flinch.

She dropped behind the flight controls and primed the engines. The deck plates trembled as the plasma drives kicked in, although the only sound was the rasp of claws trying to slice through the ceramite hull.

‘Hold on to something,’ the woman barked as she grabbed the yoke and pulled back. Zelia stumbled as the ship zoomed up from the mushroom forest. She would have ended up on her back if Talen hadn’t reached out to steady her.

The ganger’s grip tightened as a Genestealer appeared at the top of the viewport. It was clinging on to the hull as the voidship climbed through the planet’s thin atmosphere, its claws scraping against the armourglass.

‘If you’ve scratched my ship…’ the woman told the creature, slamming the yoke to the left. The ship banked sharply sending the children tumbling to the deck.

By the time Zelia looked up, the Genestealer was gone, thrown clear by the sudden movement. The woman levelled the ship, before calling over to Mekki.

‘You. Tech-Head. Can you operate cameras?’

A flash of irritation passed over Mekki’s pale face. ‘Of course I can.’

The woman slapped the co-pilot seat beside her. ‘Then check to see if any Tyranids are still along for the ride.’

‘Tyranids?’ Zelia asked.

‘The Genestealers,’ the woman replied as Mekki slipped into the seat. ‘They’re a Tyranid sub-species.’ Her eyes narrowed as she glanced back at Zelia. ‘Don’t you kids know anything?’

Zelia grabbed a chair to steady herself. ‘We could start with who you are?’

The woman didn’t look up from her dashboard, the ship shuddering as they broke free of the atmosphere. ‘I’m the person who just saved you from a fate worse than death.’

‘What’s worse than death?’ Talen asked.

‘When it comes to Genestealers, you don’t want to know.’

She turned back to her controls, which only infuriated Zelia all the more.

‘Well?’ she demanded.

The woman rolled her eyes. ‘Fine. I’m Captain Harleen Amity and this is the Profiteer. Better?’

Zelia bristled at the tone, but forced herself to remain civil. ‘I’m Zelia, this is Talen and your new co-pilot is Mekki.’

‘Pleased to make your acquaintance,’ Amity replied. ‘How are we doing with those cameras, Mekki?’

The Martian reported that the hull was clear of Genestealers, and the raucous bellow of the engines lowered in pitch to a steady thrum. Ahead of them, the planet’s atmosphere had given way to a starfield. They were back in space.

Amity thanked him, and turned towards Fleapit, who was walking around the flight deck, inquisitive eyes examining each and every station. ‘And what about your furry friend?’

‘That’s Fleapit,’ Talen said, only to be corrected by Mekki.

‘Flegan-Pala,’ the Martian said, using their companion’s real name.

‘A Jokaero,’ Amity said, staring at Fleapit’s orange back. ‘Never seen one in the flesh. Where did you buy him?’

Fleapit turned and bared his teeth at her.

‘We didn’t,’ Zelia said hurriedly. ‘He’s a survivor, like us.’

‘A survivor of what?’

Zelia told the captain everything, how she and her mother had been excavating a dig on Targian when the hive world had been attacked and destroyed by invading Necrons. Zelia and the others had barely escaped with their lives.

‘And you landed on a planet infested with Genestealers?’ Amity whistled. ‘Necrons and Tyranids. You must be tougher than you look. What did you say the hive world was called?’

‘Targian,’ Zelia repeated.

Amity shook her head. ‘Can’t say I’ve heard of it.’

She tapped one of the rings on her fingers and the flight deck lights dimmed. The air fizzed as pinpricks of light appeared around them.

‘Are those stars?’ Talen asked, his eyes wide.

‘Top marks,’ Amity replied, swatting Mekki’s servo-sprite out of her way. ‘This is a star map of the Imperium. Every dot represents a star system.’

She strolled through the hololith, searching every star system in turn. ‘Targian… Targian… No, I can’t see it.’

‘It is near the Adrantis Nebula,’ Mekki informed her.

Amity’s eyebrows shot up. ‘In the Segmentum Pacificus? But that’s on the other side of the Imperium.’ She twisted the ring around her finger and the holo-map zoomed in to one particular system.

‘That’s it,’ Zelia said, recognising the fourth planet from the sun. ‘That’s Targian.’

‘But it can’t be,’ Amity insisted. ‘You say you escaped in a life-pod.’

Talen nodded. ‘Yeah. We were thrown clear when the refugee ship made the leap into the…’ He searched for the right word, his cheeks flushing as he struggled to remember.

‘Into the warp?’ Amity prompted.

He shifted, embarrassed. ‘Yeah.’

‘Talen hasn’t travelled much,’ Zelia cut in, trying to save the ganger’s blushes. It didn’t work.

‘Thanks, Zelia,’ he hissed.

Amity didn’t seem to notice. She was shaking her head in amazement. ‘You kids must have the luck of the Emperor.’

‘What do you mean?’ Mekki asked, rising from his seat.

Amity twisted her ring and the star chart pulled out to show the entirety of the Imperium of Mankind, over a million planets filling the bridge.

Amity strode over to a pulsing red dot near the rear of the flight deck. ‘This is Targian…’ she said, before pointing to a flashing yellow light by the viewport. ‘And that’s where I found you. A planetoid so remote it hasn’t even got a name.’

A holographic line traced from one planet to the other, bisecting the map of the galaxy.

Zelia felt sick. ‘But that’s…’

‘Impossible?’ The captain walked the length of the flight deck. ‘You’re not joking. Somehow, you ended up in the Ultima Segmentum, travelling trillions of light years in a single bound.’ She stopped in front of the pulsing yellow dot that represented the ice-planet. ‘You said your ship was about to jump into the warp?’

‘Could that be what did it?’ Mekki asked. ‘If our escape pod jettisoned at the precise moment the Mercator leapt into the immaterium…’

‘The force propelled you from one end of the Imperium to the other?’ Amity said. ‘That’s not how the warp works, I’m afraid. But whatever the reason, you kids are a long way from home.’

Zelia felt light-headed. She staggered, nearly losing her balance. Talen grabbed her, lowering her into an empty seat.

‘Are you all right?’

She nodded, gripping hold of his arm. ‘I just didn’t realise how far we’d travelled. H-how far from mum we must be.’

‘Your mother survived the Necron attack?’

Zelia nodded at the captain. ‘Yes. She told us to meet her at the Emperor’s Seat.’

Amity shrugged. ‘That’s a new one on me.’

‘Isn’t it on your space-map?’ Talen asked.

The captain consulted a cogitator. ‘There’s nothing listed under that name.’

‘It could be Terra,’ Mekki suggested. Everyone turned to face the Martian. ‘Where the Emperor sits on his Golden Throne,’ he explained.

Amity didn’t look convinced. ‘Then why not just call it by its name?’

Zelia nodded. ‘You’re right. It has to be someplace else.’

‘But where?’ Talen asked, looking around at the holo-map. ‘I never realised that the universe was so big.’

Zelia turned to Amity. ‘Can you help us?’

The woman looked surprised. ‘Me?’

‘You’re a rogue trader, aren’t you?’

‘A what?’ Talen asked.

‘An adventurer for hire, at least that’s what Erasmus called them.’

‘It’s a little more complicated than that,’ Amity said.

‘I don’t see why. Mercenaries who are given free rein to travel the galaxy, trading in the Emperor’s name.’

The captain’s tone hardened. ‘We’re not mercenaries.’

‘Explorers then,’ Zelia said. ‘Privateers.’

‘Merchants,’ Amity hissed.

Zelia allowed herself to be corrected, but looked around the flight deck puzzled. ‘Although I still don’t understand how you fly a ship this size without a crew.’

‘I have a crew,’ Amity insisted, indicating the servitor still standing in the corner. ‘Grunt is more useful than he looks.’

‘And that is it?’ asked Mekki. ‘Where is your astro-navigator? Where are your technicians?’

‘I work best on my own,’ she snapped.

‘Even through the warp?’

Amity glared at the Martian. ‘How I operate my ship is none of your concern. I don’t need anyone else.’

‘Then, can you help us?’ Zelia asked again. ‘Can you help find the Emperor’s Seat?’

Amity tapped her ring and the holo-chart deactivated. She strode back to her flight chair and stared out into space.

‘Sorry, but I already have a mission.’

‘But…’

‘But nothing.’ Amity busied herself with the controls. ‘Look, I answered your distress call. I didn’t have to, but I did. I even saved you from Genestealers, for Throne’s sake. I wish I could help you with your little quest, but it’s just not possible.’

‘So what happens now?’ Zelia asked, her shoulders slumping.

‘Now you give me my reward and we part company.’

Zelia looked at her blankly. ‘Your reward?’

‘Obviously. Everything has a price, especially out here.’

‘But we don’t have anything,’ Zelia admitted. ‘Everything we owned is back on the ice-planet.’

Talen’s hand went to his belt. Zelia felt a pang of sympathy for the ganger. He must have been thinking of the pouch he’d left in their abandoned camp, the pouch containing the last link he had to his family.

‘I could take the Jokaero off your hands,’ Amity said, nodding towards Fleapit.

The alien growled, and Amity raised her hands.

‘Or maybe not.’ She turned back to the flight controls. ‘Look, I’ll take you to the nearest planet. Maybe you can contact your mother from there.’

‘What if we pay you?’ Zelia asked.

Amity swivelled in her chair to face her. ‘What with?’

Zelia fished the omniscope out of her bandolier and offered it to the captain. ‘You can have this?’

Amity looked at it doubtfully. ‘A telescope?’

‘An omniscope,’ Zelia corrected her. ‘It’s ancient archeotech. Probably worth a fortune.’

Amity smiled. ‘Nice try, but I don’t think so.’ She went back to her controls, plotting in a new course.

Zelia didn’t give up. ‘My mum has a hold full of this stuff, artefacts from dozens of worlds. There must be something of value. She’ll pay you when we find her. Or perhaps she can cut you a deal…’

Amity looked up at that. ‘What kind of deal?’

‘I don’t know. Erasmus used to help her sell artefacts, but now he’s gone, mum will need a new business partner. An agent.’

Amity laughed. ‘Do I look like an agent?’

‘I don’t know, but you’re our last hope.’ Zelia stood, walking towards the captain. ‘You’re right. We’ve been lucky so far. Really lucky, but that luck won’t last forever. We need someone’s help.’

Her voice caught in her throat and she fell silent.

Amity looked at each of them in turn, before glancing at the immobile servitor.

‘What do you think, Grunt?’

The cyborg didn’t reply.

Amity raised a hand in mock-surrender. ‘Okay, okay, there’s no need to go on about it.’ She smiled at Zelia. ‘That’s the trouble with Grunt. Once you get him talking, he never shuts up.’

Zelia’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Then you’ll help us? You’ll find the Emperor’s Seat?’

Amity turned back to her controls. ‘I’m not promising anything, but I’ll take you as far as Hinterland Outpost.’

‘Where’s that?’ Talen asked.

‘A trading post near Doron. I’ve business there anyway.’

Zelia wanted to hug the woman, but instead she tried her hardest to appear professional. ‘Thank you, captain.’

‘Don’t thank me yet. We still don’t know if this Emperor’s Seat even exists.’

Click here to buy Secrets of the Tau.

Warhammer Adventures

First published in Great Britain in 2019.
This eBook edition published in 2019 by Warhammer Publishing,
Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.

Produced by Games Workshop in Nottingham.
Cover illustration by Cole Marchetti.
Internal illustrations by Magnus Norén & Cole Marchetti.

Secrets of the Tau © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2019. TITLE, GW, Games Workshop, Warhammer Adventures, Space Marine, 40K, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, the ‘Aquila’ Double-headed Eagle logo, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Stormcast Eternals and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world.
All Rights Reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-78999-432-2

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