Jaws of the Righteous (Abyssal Jaws)
This story is part of the community effort on the Abyssal Jaws chapter.
Warlock Rheldan floated in microgravity over the over-sized bridge of the cargo freighter 'The Dutiful Servant'. Before him was a macabre scene of dismembered corpses of the ship's ill-fated crew spinning though the air in a grim dance with droplets of blood as a backdrop. The only humans that remained was the gibbering wreck of the captain (who had long had soiled himself in the few moments it took to take control of the bridge) and a steely eyed inquisitor who was barely able to contain her rage and indignation at being held in his psychic grip. "It will not be long before we have control of this ship mon-keigh. That which rightfully belongs to us will be returned."
"Do not think you'll get away with this xeno!" the inquisitor spat back.
Rheldan quickly read over a data slate containing the ship's manifest as he idly regarded the woman. "Or what, mon-keigh? I have found what we seek and by the time your marines can cut through the bulkheads we will be long since gone. Without power or gravity to your ship your kind is like a fish out of water."
She snarled at him, "NO TREACHERY WILL GO UNPUNISHED UNDER THE EMPEROR'S WATCH!"
"Ah, then I guess we must be out of your beloved Emperor's watch then. How unfortunate," he mused... and then he looked up, sensing that something was wrong. He turned to face the door into one of the main arteries of the ship just in time to see one of his guardians impaled through on a spear or harpoon of some sort hurl across to the other side of the bridge to get pinned to the wall.
"NONE ESCAPE THE EMPEROR'S WATCH!" roared a voice which was not unlike crashing waves. A moment later Rheldan could see the hulking figure of a space marine in deep blue armor with white trim splattered in red blood glide out with grace he'd have never suspected from the primitive savages.
Had his helmet been off his eyes would have bugged out, they were supposed to be cut off behind several reinforced and sealed bulkheads. Internal power was still down and there was absolutely no way they could have gotten free this quickly... unless they went out through the doors of the bay they had been trapped in and into the vacuum of space, which would make them easy targets for his men to pick off as they crawled along the hull. He quickly opened a channel to his own ship. "What in the name of Eldrad is going on out-..."
"Surprised xeno?" another one of the space marines asked, sitting in the captain's chair of his own vessel, his lips smeared with fresh blood and Rheldan could make out bits of flesh... Eldar flesh in his teeth.
"Impossible! it wasn't foreseen this way!" he cursed as he immediately darted back to get out of the way the marine on the bridge who was now rapidly heading toward him.
"NONE ESCAPE THE JAWS OF THE RIGHTEOUS!" the marine roared as he unleashed a salvo of bolts from his pistol, the wickedly toothed saw mounted to his other hand whirring to life.
Rheldan dodged with sublime litheness, bending out of the way of the bolts in a gravity-less dance. He soon found another two marines coming to join the fray from another door in. He cursed them under his breath as he spun his own power sword around to block a thrust from the newcomers drill.
He had little time to react when he realized that a 4th had entered soundless and hurled a harpoon at him. The other 3 had corralled him into a spot where he no matter which way he'd be helpless. The harpoon slammed into his gut and carried him back to the wall as it pierced deep into him. The last thing he heard before it exploded into his guts and killing him was one of the marines, "Dibs on the meaty bits."