HaemonculusHaving already studied the surface of the planet before, the augurs detect a suspicious zone with an unidentified object at its centre. It must have been hidden previously by some force field, but now it is for some reason inactive.
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HaemonculusHaving already studied the surface of the planet before, the augurs detect a suspicious zone with an unidentified object at its centre. It must have been hidden previously by some force field, but now it is for some reason inactive.
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HaemonculusHaving already studied the surface of the planet before, the augurs detect a suspicious zone with an unidentified object at its centre. It must have been hidden previously by some force field, but now it is for some reason inactive.
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HaemonculusHaving already studied the surface of the planet before, the augurs detect a suspicious zone with an unidentified object at its centre. It must have been hidden previously by some force field, but now it is for some reason inactive.
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Entry point 2 of 7
HaemonculusGuided by the Lord Captain's word, the soldiers resolutely advance on the beacon. The Rogue Trader's speech helps them withstand the beacon's horrors and remain sane. By activating a switch on the beacon, the soldiers finally turn off the torturous emissions.
YOUBring the beacon and the cargo containers aboard the ship.
HaemonculusThe removal of the beacon from the platform proceeds as planned. Nothing happens afterward. The gigantic groaning carpet of mutants continues lying where they were — neither exploding nor burning up. The Vox Master reports that the prism from the Haemonculus's laboratory shattered into a myriad of needles. It flew apart in every direction with a loud snap, gravely wounding several crew members.
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Entry point 3 of 7
HaemonculusGuided by the Lord Captain's word, the soldiers resolutely advance on the beacon. A few of them manage to withstand the nightmarish visions, remaining sane and not taking their lives before reaching the beacon. By activating a switch on the latter, the soldiers finally turn off the torturous emissions.
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Entry point 4 of 7
HaemonculusImmediately after the ship approaches close enough to the planet, the strange artefact from the Haemonculus's laboratory activates! Trying to receive the incoming signal from the planet's surface, the black faces of the prism have started to emit a pulsating lilac light. The augur team reports that the source of the signal is a small beacon which cannot be studied from orbit. A group of living organisms is detected around the beacon.
YOUSend a scout team to the source of the signal.
HaemonculusA disgusting sight unfolds before the scouts. In a sinister, high-fenced enclosure, hideous mutants crawl and writhe. Hundreds of ugly beasts, their shapes vaguely reminiscent of humans, squirm on several pairs of deformed arms and legs. Incapable of attacking or doing much of anything else beyond crawling in the dirt, the creatures are riven with endless pain which seems to feed the Drukhari beacon at the very centre of the pen. A pulsating lilac light flows from the beacon.
YOUOrder the team to activate the beacon.
HaemonculusThe activated beacon on the planet emits a thin lilac beam, sending out a signal, which is promptly accepted by the artefact on board. The prism unfolds into many small petals and shows a holographic image of a certain planet and corresponding coordinates.
YOUGive the scout team the order to return to the ship, leaving the enclosure and the mutants within alone.
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YOUOrder the scouts to bring the beacon to the ship.
HaemonculusIn response to the beacon's attempted removal, the collars and chains binding the mutants together suddenly activate, emitting a series of destructive impulses that slowly inflate and explode the beasts one after the other. In nightmarish agony, writhing and shrieking from unbearable pain, the Haemonculus's victims are finally granted their deaths and long-awaited freedom.
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YOUAll trace of the ungodly xenos in the Imperium must be destroyed! Burn the place with holy flame.
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YOUAll trace of the ungodly xenos in the Imperium must be destroyed! Burn the place with holy flame.continues where this line first appears above
YOUThe xeno-artefact does not belong on the Rogue Trader's voidship. Order the device's destruction.
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Entry point 5 of 7
HaemonculusThe Haemonculus's prism that had been kept aboard the ship has activated again! Augurs detect another Drukhari beacon, only this time the dark artefact from the Haemonculus's laboratory establishes connection with it as soon as the ship enters orbit. The prism shows the next set of coordinates, but the beacon on the planet's surface continues emitting its sinister signal.
YOUSend out a scout team to the beacon.
HaemonculusThis time around, the scene the scouts face is no less loathsome than the last. Hundreds of those who were undoubtedly at some point humans are lined up in a chain of bizarre geometric shapes. Their bodies, fused with each other at the hands and the feet, swing steadily, unable to fall. Tortured wails break through sewn lips, and burned-out eye sockets gape outward from mutilated faces.
YOUOrder the scouts to bring the beacon to the ship.
HaemonculusThe removal of the beacon from its platform leads to a grotesque spectacle. As if the beacon had sent a signal, unseen devices within the mutants activate sequentially, burning out each mutant's innards with a scarlet glow. One after the other, continuing down the chain, the poor souls' bodies slowly smoulder and turn to ash.
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YOUOrder the scouts to bring the beacon to the ship.
HaemonculusOnce the beacon is torn off its platform, a scarlet-lilac impulse runs across the giant rods that pierce the statues of flesh. All the unholy figures are gripped at once by blinding blue flame as the air is filled with incoherent screams and the smell of burned meat.
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YOUBurn the ungodly place with holy flame alongside every mutant.
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YOUSend a scout team to the beacon.
HaemonculusThe third beacon turned out to be encircled by an appalling gallery of grotesque exhibits cobbled together from a huge quantity of mutilated bodies. Massive statues pierced with giant black rods depict the battles of unknown warriors with non-existent creatures. Each of the several dozen such statues is created from quivering flesh and still-living bodies groaning in agony.
YOUOrder the scouts to bring the beacon to the ship.continues where this line first appears above
YOUOrder the scouts to bring the beacon to the ship.continues where this line first appears above
YOUBurn the ungodly place with holy flame alongside every mutant.continues where this line first appears above
YOUReady the ship's weapons and destroy the beacon and the enclosure from orbit.
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YOULeave the planet's orbit.
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Entry point 6 of 7
HaemonculusThe Haemonculus's prism residing on the ship receives the incoming signal from the planet's surface and shows the next set of coordinates. Augurs determine that, as before, the beacon on this planet is set up in the middle of a fenced area with a multitude of living creatures within.
YOUSend out a scout team to the beacon.continues where this line first appears above
YOUSend a scout team to the beacon.continues where this line first appears above
YOUReady the ship's weapons and destroy the beacon and the enclosure from orbit.continues where this line first appears above
YOULeave the planet's orbit.continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 7 of 7
HaemonculusAugurs have detected a container with unidentified cargo on the planet next to the Drukhari beacon. Many kilometres around this zone are filled with huge, likely dangerous xenos lifeforms. A very strong emission of unclear nature radiates from the beacon itself. The cargo can only be taken from the planet by force with the help of an assault squad.
YOUSend an assault squad to the planet's surface.
HaemonculusExpecting resistance, the assault squad disembarks some distance away from the beacon. To the soldiers' surprise, the gigantic mutants surrounding the beacon turn out to be incapable of even moving. Like carpets of formless chunks of flesh, these groaning and bleeding creatures cover the earth for many kilometres around. Something unseen brings them unbearable suffering.
HaemonculusThe emissions of the beacon previously detected by augurs turn out to be a cruel trap for the assault squad — acting on the soldiers' minds, it sends them horrible visions of brutal deaths and excruciating torture, preventing them from coming closer to the beacon and the cargo. The images of such abominable fates appearing directly in the brain would have brought ecstatic pleasure to a Drukhari, but even those warriors tempered by battle can scarcely withstand them.
YOURemind the soldiers that Humankind is capable of fighting off even the most terrible xenos threat, provided they find the inner strength not to yield to it.
YOUOrder the soldiers to retreat.
HaemonculusThe Lord Captain's order sent through vox-devices remains unheard by the soldiers — consumed by mind-destroying visions, they open fire in an attempt to preserve their souls. Their haphazard volley directed at the beacon and containers leads to a bright explosion, in which both the warriors and the Haemonculus's heinous works perish.
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YOUReady the ship's weapons and destroy the beacon and the enclosure from orbit.continues where this line first appears above